One of the charges constantly levelled against the test-match format is that it is much too exclusionist. Several apologists for the shortest form of cricket contend, therefore, that T20-based leagues are the way forward, and will popularise the game.
While this could well be true, the recent announcement about the format of the Champions League T20 suggests that form of the game is starting to exhibit test cricket's supposed biggest vice. The team which finished fourth in the IPL now gets direct entry into the main round, along with two teams each from Australia and South Africa, while the rest have a qualifying round to deal with.
I thought the Champions League was a fantastic idea when it started out. Sure, there were several one-sided matches in the first two editions, but as a world tournament it made a nice change from the likes of the Champions trophy and the T20 World Cup. It had a truly global feel; you got a look at up-and-comers you wouldn't know of otherwise, as well as familiar international names, past and present, in a different setting. The first two editions, despite the conspicuous absence of Pakistani teams, were appealing precisely because of this inclusiveness. The sight of a Hyderabad crowd lending its support to Daren Ganga's Trinidadians during the 2009 edition was one of the more heartwarming cricketing moments over the last few years.
However, all this was undermined last year, when a clear line was drawn with the introduction of a qualifying round. To drive home the point, the fourth-placed IPL team (the Kolkota Knight Riders) were included as part of it; I suppose it was only a matter of time before this would be changed to direct entry. The champions from the West Indies, England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Pakistan have effectively been deemed second-class citizens. While the Kiwi and Lankan teams don't really have a previous record to stand on, the West Indian representatives - Trinidad and Tobago - are rightly aggrieved. Even more galling, the winners of the BPL and the Stanbic Bank T20 are not even invited for qualification; last I checked, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe play test cricket too.
The CLT20 is a joint venture between three countries, and effectively a cartel. Marketability and audience figures are cited as the main reasons for preferential treatment here. But must they be the overriding criteria for the design of every goddamn cricket tournament? Even during the early days of World Cup Cricket, when England alone had its way, affiliates were always invited to the party.
The league could be seen as a microcosm for the way test cricket is today - a clique of sides who play each other regularly and are too cool for the rest. That's the nature of the beast, you may say. Fair enough; in that case, it's time everyone stopped buying into the myth that franchise-based T20 cricket in its present form will help globalise the sport. If anything, it has made cricket more insular.
While this could well be true, the recent announcement about the format of the Champions League T20 suggests that form of the game is starting to exhibit test cricket's supposed biggest vice. The team which finished fourth in the IPL now gets direct entry into the main round, along with two teams each from Australia and South Africa, while the rest have a qualifying round to deal with.
I thought the Champions League was a fantastic idea when it started out. Sure, there were several one-sided matches in the first two editions, but as a world tournament it made a nice change from the likes of the Champions trophy and the T20 World Cup. It had a truly global feel; you got a look at up-and-comers you wouldn't know of otherwise, as well as familiar international names, past and present, in a different setting. The first two editions, despite the conspicuous absence of Pakistani teams, were appealing precisely because of this inclusiveness. The sight of a Hyderabad crowd lending its support to Daren Ganga's Trinidadians during the 2009 edition was one of the more heartwarming cricketing moments over the last few years.
However, all this was undermined last year, when a clear line was drawn with the introduction of a qualifying round. To drive home the point, the fourth-placed IPL team (the Kolkota Knight Riders) were included as part of it; I suppose it was only a matter of time before this would be changed to direct entry. The champions from the West Indies, England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Pakistan have effectively been deemed second-class citizens. While the Kiwi and Lankan teams don't really have a previous record to stand on, the West Indian representatives - Trinidad and Tobago - are rightly aggrieved. Even more galling, the winners of the BPL and the Stanbic Bank T20 are not even invited for qualification; last I checked, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe play test cricket too.
The CLT20 is a joint venture between three countries, and effectively a cartel. Marketability and audience figures are cited as the main reasons for preferential treatment here. But must they be the overriding criteria for the design of every goddamn cricket tournament? Even during the early days of World Cup Cricket, when England alone had its way, affiliates were always invited to the party.
The league could be seen as a microcosm for the way test cricket is today - a clique of sides who play each other regularly and are too cool for the rest. That's the nature of the beast, you may say. Fair enough; in that case, it's time everyone stopped buying into the myth that franchise-based T20 cricket in its present form will help globalise the sport. If anything, it has made cricket more insular.
2 comments:
I agree totally. Last years set up was a joke. Auckland, Somerset and Trinidad & Tobago were all very even teams (all 3 games went siren to the last couple of balls) and were much better than the 3rd and 4th ranked IPL teams, and yet they are not given access to the main draw.
But some administrators seen to feel that the main aim of t20 is to generate revenue, so why should they care about what happens on the field.
I remember the Auckland games pretty well, both were alive till the last ball and the results could easily have been different.
At least they've included the Pakistani team this time. Maybe that is a cause for optimism.
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