KEY POINTS:
Like the recipe for Coca-Cola and Kentucky Fried Chicken, the formula for the recently launched MVP is a closely guarded secret.
Only a few are in the loop and, like Coke and KFC executives, they are advised not to travel together for fear the code will be
lost should their plane go down.
In a safe somewhere in the Professional Cricketers' Association in England, a single scroll of yellow parchment lies, marked by a series of algorithms and formulae that hold the key to determining domestic cricket's Most Valuable Player.
Or something like that.
The reality might be slightly less Ian Fleming and slightly more binary, but players are in the dark as to how the points are awarded. That was perplexing Central Districts skipper Mathew Sinclair at the launch of the initiative and he was heard to exclaim it was "like the Da Vinci Code".
Elsewhere, though, the concept was warmly greeted as it would give domestic cricket, which had been devalued around the turn of the millennium, another boost.
Sinclair needn't worry about skulduggery _ the formula takes out any subjectivity.
"It's a mathematical formula the creators spent hours developing," Players' Association manager Heath Mills said. "There's so much to take into account. The spreadsheet is massive and the computer guys at New Zealand Cricket are scratching their heads.
"You get bonus points for getting top six batsmen out, strike rates are a big part of it... that sort of thing."
The system acknowledges that the old measures of effectiveness _ averages and aggregates _ told only part of the story. For example, a quickfire 25 not out at the end of a one-dayer is more valuable to the cause than an opener who might have taken 100 balls to score 55.
This is a more accurate way to determine a player's value to the team. Its implications should dawn on the major association chief executives in the coming months: players who do well could lean heavily on the figures when negotiating future contracts.
"I believe this will be a valid tool in the review process," Mills said, "and that's a healthy thing.
"This will get to a stage where it will be used as a tool around contracts. It won't be the definitive thing because when you contract players there are some subjective things to take into account but I can see players saying `well, look how well I did last year, the numbers stack up, the system's proven...'
"Equally, the major associations can see what bang they're getting from their buck when it comes to a player's performance."
For interest's sake, last season's numbers were crunched and Bradley Scott of Otago, now transferred to Northern Districts, emerged as the most valuable player, just ahead of the exiled Andre Adams who cleaned up in the State Championship.
