Ultra Posted 23 March 2009 Posted 23 March 2009 From the beeb.. England 'favourite to host IPL' England and Wales are favourites to host the Indian Premier League, which is being moved out of the Asian country because it clashes with elections. South Africa is the other possibility but their board is not optimistic, believing England is the preferred choice for the Twenty20 tournament. IPL commissioner Lalit Modi revealed a decision could be made on Monday. "I don't think we will have a decision until late this evening because we need to go through every detail," he said. Modi said it would be a difficult choice and it would simply come down to who was best suited to host the tournament, which is set to run from 10 April until 24 May. He had no choice but to move it from India because the government could not guarantee safety and security resources with elections happening at the same time. Gerald Majola, chief executive of Cricket South Africa, said he believed his country was on standby should England not be able to host the competition. He said: "I must say from my side, I'm not that optimistic. The real reason I say so is the timing. "A decision has to be taken shortly. So I suspect they would be speaking to maybe their preferred choice and I think South Africa is just a standby to whoever their choice is." England and Wales chief executive David Collier was flying from the West Indies, where England are playing, to London to hold talks with his Indian counterparts. There are a lot of logistics to sort out as the tournament would clash with the start of the county season and the beginning of the West Indies' tour of England. Somerset chairman Andy Nash believed England had an 80% chance of hosting the lucrative tournament, which sees eight domestic teams with an array of international talent - includng Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff - competing. Nash told BBC Radio 5 Live: "Obviously there is an awful lot yet to be worked out, but, at the end of the day, England invented the Twenty20 format. "Should it be possible to bring the IPL here, I'm sure there will be enormous crowds and a huge amount of interest. "Logistically it won't be simple but if the will is there it can be overcome, I'm sure. "Cricket can achieve remarkable things if people work together. "Once the ECB are aware of the requirements of the BCCI and IPL, they will move heaven and earn to try and accommodate this." As with the Stanford fiasco, the ECB is putting the chance of a quick buck ahead of the interests of the game. Realistically speaking, the county season will have to be put on hold for a month while this tournament takes place. And the board also has a contract with Sky to hold a two-match Test series between England and West Indies during this time. In addition, if the spring weather here was at all reliable, we would be scheduling our own Twenty20 tournament then. Instead, it's being staged in July and August. There's only one place the IPL should be staged - India.
Flynny Posted 23 March 2009 Posted 23 March 2009 From the beeb..Realistically speaking, the county season will have to be put on hold for a month while this tournament takes place. If that was the case they'd not be going ahead, and it's not even certain it's happening yet.
Corky Posted 23 March 2009 Posted 23 March 2009 As long as Giles Clarke is involved, the ECB will chase the money, no matter how or where it comes from.
Fox You Forest Posted 23 March 2009 Posted 23 March 2009 Even if it was put on hold for a month the chances are the season would still finish around the same time as not many games make it in the first month anyway due to the weather. If it was to be held in England would the games be shown on the TV over here? Or did they anyway? I don't remember seeing it advertised last time.
Craig Posted 23 March 2009 Posted 23 March 2009 I think Setanta have the rights for it, i may be wrong though
Fox You Forest Posted 23 March 2009 Posted 23 March 2009 I think Setanta have the rights for it, i may be wrong though Send it to South Africa then.
Fosse Boy Posted 23 March 2009 Posted 23 March 2009 From the beeb..As with the Stanford fiasco, the ECB is putting the chance of a quick buck ahead of the interests of the game. Err, when have they ever done anything to the contrary?
Webbo Posted 23 March 2009 Posted 23 March 2009 I don't see why the season would have to be put on hold. The games could be scheduled when the counties are playing away. I could see this affecting the gates at our own Twenty20 tournament though. Would all the county grounds get a game do you think, or would it just be the test grounds?
SemperEadem Posted 23 March 2009 Posted 23 March 2009 I hope if it does come to England Grace road gets a game !
Webbo Posted 23 March 2009 Posted 23 March 2009 I don't see why the season would have to be put on hold. The games could be scheduled when the counties are playing away.I could see this affecting the gates at our own Twenty20 tournament though. Would all the county grounds get a game do you think, or would it just be the test grounds? Having just seem this on the news it looks as if it's just the test grounds.
Simi Posted 23 March 2009 Posted 23 March 2009 Having just seem this on the news it looks as if it's just the test grounds. Shame really as it could have been an ideal opportunity to raise the awareness of cricket in areas that don't get to see anything more than county cricket.
Ultra Posted 25 March 2009 Author Posted 25 March 2009 So am I. It would only have widened the gap between the "big" counties and the rest. And there's no way any games would have gone to Grace Road..
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