Mark Nicholas: what does the future hold? © Getty Images

Mark Nicholas, the former Hampshire captain and renowned commentator, has been dropped from Channel Nine's commentary team for the forthcoming Australian summer.

Channel Nine took the decision to leave out Nicholas, who commentated during the recently concluded Super Series, from a "pretty full" commentary box as they prepared for the forthcoming Test series against West Indies and South Africa, as well as the one-day tri-series.

Unlike last summer, when Nine decided to rotate one of its regular commentators out of the box for each Test, they took a decision to leave Nicholas out. "We just felt we've got a pretty full commentary roster," Graeme Koos, the executive producer of Nine's cricket coverage, told Sydney Morning Herald, "and to bring Mark in meant someone else gets pushed out and that's a difficult thing. Still, these things can change."

Nine's decision means that Nicholas, who was also part of Channel 4's Ashes coverage, could be out of a television job, given that the England and Wales Cricket Board has sold the rights to all international cricket in England to Sky.