Boardroom battles ahead for cricket schedulers
A brief report appeared on Cricinfo yesterday that hints at difficult times ahead for the ICC and national boards around the world over the next twelve months or so. Good Cricket Wicket senses a storm brewing over the scheduling of international competitions and the new spate of domestic Twenty20 tournaments.
The 2009 Champions League, featuring the best of the worlds domestic Twenty20 teams, has again been scheduled for the same month as the ICC’s Champions Trophy, already postponed this year due to security concerns in Pakistan. Additionally, the tournament is set to begin on September 25th, just five days after England and Australia complete their ODI series.
Because tournaments such as the Champions League and the IPL are independant from the ICC, having been inaugurated by the national boards in Australia, South Africa and India, the ICC has little or no control over when these tournaments are scheduled. The amount of money involved and the incentives to players to appear in these lucrative new competitions means that many will doubtless have their loyalties tested sooner rather than later. We have already seen New Zealand players arriving late for their tour of England this season in order to play in the IPL. How long will it be before players are opting out of international matches and tours altogether in order to line their pockets playing in less demanding 40-over matches?
It therefore seems likely that we could be faced with the sort of club v country disputes that are the bane of international football, but with the difference being that Test cricket is currently the biggest form of income for many cricketing nations, and the damage to them of missing players and rescheduled tours will be greater.
Who is the likely victor in a power struggle between the ICC and the national administrators? Given the ICC’s weak track record in dealing with such disputes, and the financial clout India can bring to bear, they are going to be up against it. For the protection of international Test cricket, still seen by most as the pinnacle of the sport, and long may it remain so, the ICC need to establish themselves as the sole arbiter of scheduling tournaments which fall outside of each nations domestic season.
Our English reserve and mis-trust of change may lead us to fear the worst where the rise of Twenty20 cricket is concerned, but it does bring benefits and opportunities other than those to be found on the accounting ledgers. To illustrate, Middlesex will be taking part in the first Champions League in December, and the exposure to high quality opposition in high pressure, overseas conditions can be of benefit to their young players, such as Dawid Malan, who may have international futures ahead of them. The potential of qualifying for the Champions League will add extra spice to our own, domestic Twenty20 competition.
So, it’s not all bad news but the important contest in Twenty20 will take place, not on the pitch but in cricket’s boardrooms around the world.
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