Opinion | John Stern >> Elvis v Mozart In England, the IPL is viewed as the monster that'll kill Test cricket. But maybe it won't be so bad after all John Stern March 25, 2008 Not cricket as we know it: the IPL may be the game's rock n'roll moment © AFP There was a conversation recently on BBC radio during one of England's Tests in New Zealand, between Christopher Martin-Jenkins and Geoff Boycott. It was one of those joyful little asides that the Test Match Special commentary team still specialise in. Boycott was passing comment on the signing of New Zealand's Ross Taylor by the Bangalore franchise in the IPL. Boycott waxed about what a great signing this was, how Bangalore needed a biffer like Taylor to complement the grafters like Rahul Dravid. At some point during his exposition, Boycott turned to CMJ for affirmation. CMJ's response was indifferent at best. His lack of interest in the IPL was obvious. Boycott might as well have been talking about American football for all the likelihood that his co-commentator was going to engage him in conversation about it. CMJ's reaction, I would suggest, is pretty typical of English cricket followers, and certainly of the more mature spectator. I would imagine that British Asian cricket punters are more engaged with the revolution, but for the majority of England supporters the IPL is just another acronym that might as well be something to do with the global banking crisis as with cricket. This might have something to do with the absence of any significant England players (Dimitri Mascarenhas notwithstanding) in the IPL. But it also has a whole lot to do with English cricket's innate conservatism, the sort of kneejerk reaction that Brits have taken centuries to cultivate and for which we are rightly renowned across the globe. There are two strands to this conservatism. Firstly there is the Fred Trueman-style "what's going off out there?" bewilderment at cricket's modernisation, which extends to fear for the future of Test cricket, and indeed, all forms of "proper" cricket (that is, games played over at least three days in white clothes). I have some sympathy with the Test cricket element of that fear, and indeed that was my first reaction when the full extent of the IPL became apparent: that the Test game would soon be eroded into nothing more than couple of "boutique" or "heritage" series involving Australia, England and India. The second strand of this conservatism is less rational and more xenophobic. The idea of money running cricket is unpalatable enough but Indian money? Good grief, pour another G&T. This may seem like an extreme view and, for sure, it's not representative of the majority. But in the mainstream British news media, cricket has a frustratingly dysfunctional and outdated image. Whereas football, and all who sail in her, are worshipped with increasingly absurd reverence, cricket is either seen as a bit of a joke (default position is that the England team is rubbish regardless of whether they're actually winning any matches) or as a some sort of emblem of rural England. I have done a number of TV and radio interviews about the IPL and at no point in any of them was there any real discussion about whether the IPL might possibly be good for cricket or at least whether it might be popular. It was the same old discussions about limited-overs cricket ruining the game with an unhealthy dose of "Crikey, where do these Indian chaps get their money from?" thrown in. Now, before I start turning intellectual somersaults, I should say that I still have grave doubts about the IPL's benefits for anyone other than for the cash-rich players involved. But only time will tell. It occurred to me, after a conversation with Cricinfo's editor, Sambit Bal, that maybe this was what it was like in the 1950s when your kids started eroding the entire moral value system by listening to Elvis. Not only did the world not end, a whole new art form was born. Maybe the IPL, and Twenty20 in general, is cricket's rock 'n' roll moment. Maybe it's time for people like me to get with the programme. And just as it's possible to like both Elvis and Mozart, maybe the 20-over game and the 450-over game can co-exist perfectly happily. Let's hope so. John Stern is editor of The Wisden Cricketer © Cricinfo

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Posted by nick_japan_2007 on March 26 2008, 02:38 AM GMT

I am a NZ fan and was sad to watch Shane Bond watch NZ lose to a beatable English side, simply because the profiteers in India don't want him to play.

Posted by Sky-Walker on March 25 2008, 23:19 PM GMT

Hi John. Besides players , the BCCI is going to obviously get benefits from IPL.God knows how they are going to invest this money. By the way there is not going to be much financial affect of IPL failure either .Most of the IPL owners are very sound and even IPL fails it is not going to affect their wealth at all. The Bollywood guys are viewing this as another four hour movie. Wait and see what colors they add during innings break. These guys are shrewd, sound and calculated business men and I am pretty sure they will ensure that this a huge success over the period. Other factors affects IPL success are growth of Indian industry and economy, how seriously these players play, development of additional infrastructure on the side of main stadiums, over all performance of Indian cricket team etc.

Posted by Tamilpower on March 25 2008, 19:26 PM GMT

I think the old colonial war horses are realising that finally they are losing their grip and control over the game! Its not so much that 20/20 cricket will destroy Test Cricket its the fact that something like the IPL/ICL and stanford 20/20 will actually dwarf and make International Cricket irrelevant in the near future! In fact thanks to Australia's dominance people are now more interested in watching club matches with global superstars as opposed to nationalised players who may or may not be very good playing a multifarious number of irrelevant matches just for the sake of completing a series! Football has gone that way with the champions league.Cricket will go the same way. There are only 9 teams that compete at the highest level! How interesting are you going to make it? International cricket has had its day now its time for real global cricket with players and spectators alike getting a chance at watching and playing global teams. Not nationalistic colonial models of yesteryear.

Posted by futurecaptainofindia on March 25 2008, 17:06 PM GMT

The IPL is very clearly a financial bonanza - with more entertainment than cricketing value. However, i believe this league structure has thrown open the doors for cricket to be recognised as a sport feasible for the Olympics - obviously not the Beijing, but possibly 2012 London.

Posted by KTiwari on March 25 2008, 16:56 PM GMT

Who wants test cricket when most of matches have atleast 50% empty seats and finally, who cares what English commentaters think or miniscule of English cricket lovers think. England is football loving country so let them enjoy that. Indians and lot of others in Asia are cricket loving people and let them enjoy 20-20 games be it ICL or IPL.

Posted by AlwaysTheWall on March 25 2008, 16:36 PM GMT

After many years of studying, I got a job that I will be taking upon my graduation here shortly. It is a good job that will pay well. For the past many years, I have invested in my education and this company obviously contributed nothing to it. It was the lure and possibility of jobs like it (combined of course with my love of what I do) that got me to invest time and money in my education. Regardless of whether I got the job or not, the fact would have been that I got trained in the profession. The IPL is much the same. It does not need to directly finance development programs to have an effect on the growth and development of cricket and players. The fact that it exists is enough.

Posted by Nampally on March 25 2008, 15:35 PM GMT

Comparison of English Soccer league to 20/20 IPL is totally incorrect. While the format of soccer is basically unchanged in the English soccer league, 20/20 format is totally different to Test format. Cricket was started to be a gentleman's game to be played at a lesiurly pace in white uniforms. The 20/20 has totally altered the basic intent of the game.The players will be in coloured uniform,boom boom batting and swing at everything you can. These days people do not have patience for a slow moving pastime like test cricket anymore. To counter this IPL appears to be marketing this 20/20 format. It will match American Baseball League,English soccer, NBA, NFL and NHL in terms of quick entertainment. This is a quick cash grab for players & organisers thru' TV and Indian public who pay at the gate. As Bernard Shaw once said "Cricket is a game played by 22 fools and watched by 22,000 other fools". How long the TV & Indian public support it, remains to be seen. But "This Isn't Cricket".

Posted by uknsaunders on March 25 2008, 15:07 PM GMT

Sorry John but your miles off the mark! Maybe your part of the old brigade! Most "normal" english cricket lovers are intrigued and bemused by the IPL/ICL money. We invented 20/20 and love it, so the glamour of the IPL will certainly be watched with interest. I think the fear of the erosion of test cricket is shared worldwide but maybe less so in England where test matches are generally sold out for the first 4 days no matter who turns up. Where the IPL might finally make some headway is in showing the counties (most turning over only £3m in revenue a year!) how to make money and that the nostalgic 18 county system has finally had it's day. Most of us in England who want the national team to do well have wanted a tougher, county/zonal system with less sides for years!. Just maybe the IPL could be the making of England...

Posted by Arsalan.I.Khan on March 25 2008, 14:22 PM GMT

I think its good that cricket is going to the same as is EPL. Players will be as famous as are the players there. I think it should be allowed to florish as it deserve to...but i guess test cricket's beauty cannot be compared with fast cricket like T20

Posted by bbrian on March 25 2008, 14:01 PM GMT

Hey everyone Let us concentrate on the cricket. I love the game, don't you? Who stand to lose anything? We can only gain from the T/20 tournament. either we realize our failure or we continue in our sucessess.

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