'We invented this game, it's our game'
Many of the county reports in the media made the comparison that the cold start to the Championship is in some ways a metaphor for the shadow cast on the English game by the Indian Premier League
ESPNcricinfo staff
25-Feb-2013
Many of the county reports in the media made the comparison that the cold start to the Championship is in some ways a metaphor for the shadow cast on the English game by the Indian Premier League. In The Guardian, Paul Kelso observes the knock-on effect of the IPL on the opening day at the Rose Bowl and finds Hampshire chairman Rod Bransgrove in fighting mood.
I think the challenge is to respond to the IPL. We invented this game, it's our game and we should be leading," said Bransgrove. "Hopefully the chairman and the board will found a vibrant, exciting Twenty20 competition in this country that will decide our players to stay, as well as attracting the best players from around the world to come here."
Geoffrey Boycott is typically forthright in The Telegraph and looks to the long term implications on central contracts, among other issues. In a must-read piece he is firstly sceptical about Allen Stanford’s potential Twenty20 match involving England players, calling it “a brilliant publicity stunt”. He calls for England’s two-Test series next year to be scrapped, while demanding the players are allowed in next year’s IPL, but not to play all of it so that they can play the first three county matches ahead of the Ashes:
if the players don't like the idea of missing half the IPL, the ECB have one big ace in the pack. They can come back and say: "You don't have to have a central contract at all. And we don't have to pick you." Once these lads stop getting international exposure, all their endorsement deals are worthless, no matter how many Indians are watching them in the IPL.
In The Independent, Angus Fraser offers an insight into how the IPL took off and talks of how the BCCI influenced events in the recent Tests between Australia and India. The Times have Alan Lee in position in Bangalore ready for the start of the IPL.
A small, sober poster reminds us that it will also be World Heritage Day. If cricket had a similar occasion, a movement to protect its sacred customs, it would rail against the Indian Premier League
And also in The Times there is a piece on some off the off-field entertainment that will be on offer, most notably the cheerleaders who having been imported from the Washington Redskins.
Donald Wells, the Redskins’ entertainment and cheerleading director, said: “This fusion of dance backgrounds has created a new amazing style. I am really looking forward to the reaction of India towards the Redskins cheerleaders. What we are doing is cutting edge and it’s great to see that we are going to start this squad off on the right foot.”
Mr Wells is also helping to coach a group of locals who will lead the cheering after their mentors have returned to the United States.