The Days are getting longer. The sun that bit brighter and birds are returning. Of course it is spring. A time when cricket bags are retrieved from dusty sheds, boots scrubbed and players begin to practice for the new season in ernest. However there is something in the air this year which is different from all the seasons which have gone before. That something is the Indian Premier League.
The world of cricket is about to change completely too how we see it today. With the arrival of the big money spinning Twenty20 Indian league the lure of money will (and already has) been too great for most of the world’s best players to resist. Whilst the IPL will provide fabulous entertainment and a great spectacle, we must also look at the effect it will have on the game in the long run. The economic lure of the sub-continent and its huge fan base has given rise to a new era in world cricket where sponsorship and T.V money has reached new heights. It was a case of when, rather than if, with the twenty20 format of the game becoming ever popular in recent years. It will not be long now before the regular English county season will be put back a few weeks to allow for county players to participate in the tournament – Changing what has been decades of tradition.
Lalit Modi, the founder of the IPL has reportedly been talking to agents representing English players keen on playing in the league. However, both Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen turned down six figure sums to take part in the league because they wanted to concentrate on their England careers. However the question on everybody’s lips is whether twenty20 will take over from 50 over cricket altogether? Would it matter? What we should worry about is whether it will start affecting decisions made about Test cricket. Test cricket should and still is the top of the tree for any cricketer. Where skills are honed, good players are made and poorer ones exposed. It is the stuff of legends where men have practically lived and died by its sword. We must be careful not to lose this historical game which we, the English created. The ICC should keep its hand in hand arrangement with the IPL with a firm grip as too not allow it to get out of hand. Sport can go wrong if decisions are left in the wrong hands and businessmen with pound signs in their eyes are allowed to have too much say. On the other hand the IPL could be used as a fuel to burn the fire of worldwide interest in cricket. It can also be used, if managed properly as a commercial arm of the sport as a whole, bringing in much needed finance to cricket boards and grass roots if some sort of agreement could be arranged between the ICC and the IPL. Such an agreement could be based upon boards receiving compensation from the IPL for the use of contracted players rather like the ECB does to English counties.
Do you think the game is getting out of control and greed is becoming a concern?
Old English Game – A long way from colourful Twenty20.
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