Chairman, ECB, Giles Clarke, has been at pains to dispel the notion that the ECB somehow ‘lost out’ in what is being perceived the ‘race to the IPL’ that the IPL was a kind of prize that the ECB wanted but could not have. While it has been projected in the cricket news that Cricket South Africa was somehow more proactive and quicker off the mark than the ECB in wooing what is the biggest prize in international cricket, ECB does not want it to seem so.

(Read Cricket360 related article "Why South Africa won out over England?")

 

In fact Clarke was reported in the cricket news as having said the ECB indicated their willingness to be on board with the Indian Premier League hosting issue and had even drawn up a draft schedule in just 48 hours. Perceived logistical problems had also quickly been ironed out. He also reiterated that security and policing were not stumbling blocks as the culture secretary had pledged support.

What seemed ultimately to swing things in favour of the South Africans was something rather mundane; it was the weather. The fear that rain would play spoilsport in England was a very real reason for England not being the preferred option.

Clarke was keen to dispel the notion that the objections raised by the ICC president David Morgan about the clash of the IPL fixtures with the domestic cricket tourneys was the reason England were ‘dragging their feet’ about the Indian Premier League. He said, "If they wanted us to host it, we believe we would be in a position to do so. We don't see this as a competitive situation."

There is also the matter of pitches in England which at the time of year when the IPL will be held would be damp and moist, whereas the T20 format requires hard and bouncy pitches that are more batsmen friendly than bowler friendly. “It will be early spring in England in April and the wickets are normally moist and damp. The wickets in South Africa are relatively firmer and don’t offer much lateral movement,” a player was quoted as having said in the cricket news. It will now remain to the seen if CSA is able to restore international cricket pitches in South Africa which will reasonably be worn out being as this is the end of the cricket playing season there.

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."

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