Cover Points : ICL

ICL = International Cricket League?

dcsiva — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 13:49:00 GMT

Arjuna Ranatunga the administrator is carrying on the mysterious ways he developed as captain. I can't begin to imagine what has possessed the man, especially given that SL's current players are still agitating for playing in the IPL next year, not touring England. Good luck to him anyway!

Having predicted the creation of a Sri Lanka team in the ICL, which looks one giant step closer to happening now, Soulberry is now thinking ICL tie-ups with Stanford:

ICL comes that much closer to recognition/acceptance and a possible tie-up with Stanford at some point in the future may not be a pipe-dream anymore.

SL has solved the problem of keeping its players well-paid and happy with one stroke. Others are sure to follow.

Jrod puts it in the way only he could:

But say what you will, it takes a fair man to stick his middle digit up at a millionaire kidnapper.

Would you?

I cannot believe me and Arjuna agree on anything.

If Arjuna had a blog, oh the angry comments he would get.

That would teach him for this anti establishment behaviour.

Finally, Kartikeya gives us a run-down on the Irani Trophy, both review and preview.

ICL internationals in the offing

dcsiva — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 13:04:00 GMT

Those busy bodies at the ICL have taken another big step in the direction of a challenge to the ICC itself, not just the BCCI. As Soulberry puts it:

So there are three international teams so far in the ICL - India, Pakistan and BD. New Zealand and Sri Lanka cannot be far away and it must be a cinch to whip up an Australian or Saffer team - there are so many players in those ranks who are "out of the loop" so to speak. Can't be long before all teams are represented, now that counties and countries (1st world only at the moment) may not have problems fielding ICL players...they may have problems fielding IPL players instead! Kapil tells us why - ICL plays better cricket and IPL plays better marketing.

Ottayan talks about the BCB's attempt to rein the players back in. And Samir Chopra claims it's all a miscommunication exercise. Here's Sandeep Patil's column on cricketnext:

The six players who come from Bangladesh bring a whiff of fresh air to the ICL's campaign. They have strengthened our resolve to provide better facilities and opportunities to those who have been denied. And this number is only increasing and it is time the ICC and the BCCI took notice of it.

Support for ICL would only mean support to cricketers because we are only concentrating on creating the infrastructure and competitions for young players. We are not competing with the IPL or the BCCI. We have our targets and have set benchmarks in terms of quality entertainment. By denying us the authorities in turn are only denying the young players.

Finally, on a different note, here's Judhajit Basu on TV viewership across the different forms of cricket. No big surprises (excepting perhaps that the IPL beat the Twenty20 World Cup):

Rohit Gupta, SET India president for network sales, licensing and telephony, says Twenty20 is a powerful format. "The audience involvement is three-and-a-half hours compared to eight hours for a one-dayer," Gupta told Cricinfo. "Though an over-exposed format, Twenty20 offers huge excitement, which means the youth and females get involved in large numbers. Understandably, viewership for Test cricket and ODIs has dipped when we talk in relative terms. Hopefully, the concerned authorities will take note of this trend and work on the one-day format in the near future."

While ESS said "it was too premature to comment", industry insiders believe the superhuman success of Twenty20 has resulted in the others taking a beating. "It's a temporary state of affairs and that if the hypothesis persisted for two years, it would certainly a matter of concern. However, I believe one good Test series, especially with the upcoming tour by Australia, will change the picture completely," said a source.

My apologies for the lack on posts recently!

Banning playing with ICL players

dcsiva — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:43:00 GMT

It's a convoluted piece of logic, to be sure. Apparently the BCCI has seen fit to tell Indian players not to play for any teams that have ICL players in them:

"The BCCI has advised its players to stay away from counties that have ICL players," board secretary Niranjan Shah told Mumbai's Mid Day tabloid on Friday.

"We are not saying that no player can play county cricket in the future. The England and Wales Cricket Board is coming out with a policy regarding ICL within a year. So, we will see how it goes," Shah added.

There's the restraint of trade angle to all of this, of course, but most of all the degrees of separation aspect is extraordinary:

So you play for the ICL, then travel to England and play for Notts, then VVS Laxman can’t sign up for Notts. You go to Aberdeen for a vacation, and Rahul Dravid can’t vacation in Scotland for the rest of his life. You book in to a British Airways flight to go to England to watch the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, and you’ve denied Sachin Tendulkar the opportunity to meet Lewis Hamilton.

As Geetha Krishnan suggests, there's more than a hint of the contamination logic of caste here. The ICL's route forward is obvious: get their players into as many different teams around the world as they possibly can and make it impossible for a BCCI-sanctioned player to play anywhere at all... Hah!

ICL misrecognition and Kanpur whine

dcsiva — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 13:06:00 GMT

The ICL lawyers have finally sought official recognition directly from the ICC itself. Makes sense, given that India just beat the World, right? Malcolm Speed says that the BCCI has never officially unrecognized the ICL, so the whole thing is still up for grabs. I wish I knew what the ICL's grand plan is...

"There are two parts to that. Until recently the ICL had never sought recognition from the ICC, so it never asked the question. About ten days ago lawyers acting on behalf of ICL contacted ICC and sought recognition from the ICC," said Malcolm Speed, the outgoing CEO of ICC, on Wednesday during an interaction with reporters.

"We are awaiting advice from our lawyers on that issue and I expect it within the next week or so (after which) we'll respond to the ICL lawyers," Speed added.

"The question is never been asked whether ICC will recognize ICL one way or the other. It's a fairly complicated legal issue and we are taking legal advice," said the ICC CEO who will step down from his post in June.

Jrod is resolutely pesimissitic about the whole thing.

Meanwhile, Suresh Menon has a column on Graeme Smith having cheese and no whine about the Kanpur pitch, the one the ICC will be probing.

Pitch payments and names

dcsiva — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 13:26:00 GMT

Dhoni giving money to the curator is, apparently, standard practice, not at all an extra special thank you. And Straight Point counters the Saffers' complaints about the pitch:

if you collapse from 151-1 to 265 out on first day will you blame pitch...then how you were at 150 odd for a loss of single wicket...good batting?

if you field like you did...on second day...dropping catches like hot potatoes...infact dropping gangly when he was around 40...who later went on to become highest scorer of the match...

Have they been reading Well Pitched? Q reports that the PCB are going after the ICL:

The PCB seem to have picked up on it as well. They have filed a case against the ICL for using the name "Pakistan" for one of their teams and for projecting that Inzamam & Co. are representing "Pakistan". Feeling threatened PCB?

Finally, a note of caution from Jrod about Ajantha Mendis and a toe in the warm waters of the IPL from dailycric.

Team India, politics and protesting Tendulkar

dcsiva — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 12:38:00 GMT

Samir Chopra writes thoughtfully about the relationship between "ICL India" and "BCCI India" in a post on the conventions of community belonging:

For as long as we've known cricket in India, it was assumed that there was only one 'Indian' team. And the BCCI was its lord and master. This India XI, for trademark reasons, I'm sure, is called the "ICL India XI" and not just the "India XI", but its an India XI as much as the BCCI's XI is.

Cricketing View examines sport and politics. Should they mix? More to the point, should Tendulkar carry the Olympic flame?

Something to think about...... for all of us. A great sportsman like Tendulkar should know better than to carry the Olympic torch when others like Kiran Bedi have refused to do so. We can blame the politics of it all, but the simple point is, that it is our Government, and it is our character which is revealed. We ought not to sacrifice it at the altar of "interest".

And In the Name of Cricket takes raises an altogether different question about Tendulkar, fitness, and the long careers:

This leaves team India at his mercy. The public has been conned to such an extent that from now on when Sachin declares himself fit, the selectors will have to select him and similarly when he declares he is unfit they will have to drop him. Otherwise, India will go up in flames and the selectors and cricketers will have to face angry mobs wherever they go.
The pity is the organisation that should have seen through Sachin's ploy is hand in glove with him. It is obvious that Sachin has only his interest at heart.

IPL versus ICL, the national question

dcsiva — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 13:45:00 GMT

Why have some cricket players gravitated towards the ICL---particularly from New Zealand and Pakistan---and others towards the IPL? Perhaps the particular Boards have something to do with it?

Do Aussies play for money or for country:

Forty-nine percent of cricketers who played at state level would consider ditching their Australian teams to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) or its rival, the Indian Cricket League, said The Age newspaper, which published the survey results.
But national chairman of selectors, Andrew Hilditch, said the results did not match up with players' love for their country.

Meanwhile, the IPL keeps on picking up Aussie players.

Graham Gooch is certain that the ECB will have to find some way of accommodating the IPL:

Cricket bosses are fighting a losing battle in trying to stop England's top stars from appearing in the Indian Premier League, says Graham Gooch.

And Q chronicles the Pakistan/ICL badshah connection.

West Indian victory

dcsiva — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:24:00 GMT

Brian Carpenter celebrates a West Indian victory. Vaneisa Baksh connects cricket and culture. CaribbeanCricket points the way to Atherton on Lara.

Tendulkar will miss the third Test, but don't worry he'll be ready for the IPL. Q celebrates the ICL. Patrick Kidd likes the ICL and Twenty20, but thinks that draws are exciting.

King Cricket looks at the best fast bowling team in the world at the moment. And Rogers defects to Victoria.

Pitches, groins and third chances

dcsiva — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 14:30:00 GMT

Was the pitch too blame for the draw? Meanwhile, Tendulkar's anatomy is again a hot topic as he might be out of the next Test.

Will the Naved/Rana situation rework the relationship between the IPL and ICL?

Q welcomes back Bazid Khan into the Pakistan squad for the coming series against Bangladesh.