Brett Lee says that playing in the IPL has resulted in the Aussies gaining a  greater understanding of Indian culture:

HARBHAJAN SINGH is not the only one to have said he will turn over a new leaf. The leader of the Australian attack, Brett Lee, last night pledged the Australian team will be on its best behaviour for the sequel to last summer's explosive Bollyline series.

In a concerted attempt to consign the acrimony between the Australian and Indian teams to history before the series begins, Lee said many of his teammates had benefited from experiencing their opponents' culture in the Indian Premier League.

Is that really true? Or even possible? Perhaps cricket is now only about money, or are these entirely false opposites? Meanwhile the money at stake certainly keeps on increasing. The Royal Bank of Scotland have signed up Sachin Tendulkar as a brand ambassador and sponsored the Twenty20 cricket in Pakistan (no security scares for them, I guess):

The PCB recently launched the Royal Bank of Scotland 20-20 Cup that will kick off on 4th October in Lahore.

Finally some cricket!

Who would have thought that the global financial crisis would affect cricket in Pakistan.

ABN Amro has sponsored domestic cricket in Pakisan for the last 3 years, however with its take over by RBS, all cricket in Pakistan will now be sponsored by them.

Royal Bank of Scotland sponsoring cricket in Pakistan. That sounds strange doesn't it?

And, finally, Neo Sports expect to make Rs 285 crores this year, with RBS a leading purchaser:

The sports broadcaster has managed to lock in 70% of its advertising inventory for the season. A deal has been finalised with telecom company Airtel which would be the co-presenting sponsor for both the India-Australia and India-England series.

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Toyota have also come on board as associate sponsors. Fosters is the third associate/beverage partner, but will not get the same benefits as the other two associate sponsors.

They will utilise the partnership to popularise the brand on ground. The deal was closed by the World Sports Group (WSG), the ground right holders for an estimated Rs 3.3 crore per match. India and Australia will clash in a four-match series beginning October 9 in Bangalore.

This is RBS’ first investment in cricket and the bank is using cricket as its launch vehicle in India. Toyota on the other hand is using cricket as a platform to market and advertise its latest launch, the Corolla Altis.