At last, something good to come out of the IPL...

Australia will reportedly only play two Test matches in New Zealand next year after New Zealand Cricket shortened the tour to reduce the overlap between the series and the Indian Premier League.

Kiwi tour downgraded to minnow status...

While it's only a tour of New Zealand the news is worrying on a broader level.

The IPL is a bohemoth sucking up and destroying everything in its path.

This time around it will be a reduced series. Will the series be scrapped all together in years to come?

I fear cricket is headed for a split and power struggle every bit as momentous as World Series Cricket. The question is, who will win the struggle?

LM, aka TGW II ?

I am no fan of IPL. But the reality is that Players want the IPL. Their first priority is to take care of themselves. It is only the fans who are very emotional about this due to their nationalistic leanings.

I don't particularly want it to go the way of Soccer where club championships rule the roost except when once in 4 yrs there is a World cup. But that may be the way this is heading.

What would kill IPL is if all the foreign players walked out. But that ain't going to happen. Already we are seeing big names give up test and other national duties in favour of IPL. And whilst all the other boards have their begging bowls at BCCI they will continue to dictate the agenda.

I'd be curious to see what would happen if there was a stack of money thrown at Test cricket. OK, this might mean making some unpalatable (to some) decisions. Like adopting two pools, one of stronger teams, one of weaker teams, where the stringer teams play each other much more often than they play the weaker teams. And enforce respectable over rates. I still believe people will go to a contest.

I like the David Morrow test. Name a memorable ODI, outside of world cups, then list the details of every test match you can remember.

Skulls trivia is proof of the endearing nature of the real form of the game.

But qmy, in the not-too-distant future, Tests may become all the more memorable because of their rarity. Not good for the game.

Phhuurrtt! The shorter form of the game is the two dollar hooker when you're too lazy to wank. Test cricket is the girl you take home for Sunday lunch.

Bradman wrote:I like the David Morrow test. Name a memorable ODI, outside of world cups, then list the details of every test match you can remember.

Skulls trivia is proof of the endearing nature of the real form of the game.

Not sure the test will have the same results with the under 20 fans some of them don't watch tests at all.

Josh Carney wrote:

Bradman wrote:I like the David Morrow test. Name a memorable ODI, outside of world cups, then list the details of every test match you can remember.

Skulls trivia is proof of the endearing nature of the real form of the game.

Not sure the test will have the same results with the under 20 fans some of them don't watch tests at all.

Their loss. Though you could extend the test to JAMODI's only.

What's the highest innings score. what's the highest individual score, what are the best bowling figures, who won the BH cup in '79?

I guarantee you most cricket fans could answer those questions if related to test cricket.

Australia v New Zealand is an underrated contest in cricket. It nearly always produces some exciting stuff.

That's a very good point. And way back when they wwere the only team to beat the Windies, let alone the (rain induced) bloody nose they gave us in 2001.

Bradman wrote:I like the David Morrow test. Name a memorable ODI, outside of world cups, then list the details of every test match you can remember.

Wanderers. 438.

Henry wrote:Australia v New Zealand is an underrated contest in cricket. It nearly always produces some exciting stuff.

It certainly does.
Underarm bowling from one of the contestants comes to mind.

Merlin wrote:

Henry wrote:Australia v New Zealand is an underrated contest in cricket. It nearly always produces some exciting stuff.

It certainly does.
Underarm bowling from one of the contestants comes to mind.

See, yet another memorable ODI.

And the rest of the question? Without going to a stats site list the last ten holders of the JAMODI HS record.

Was basically the only one I could come up with, which goes to prove your point.

10Q

The IPL isn't going anywhere as long as it has this amount of player support. Its hardly difficult to imagine players voluntarily turning down an offer to earn anywhere between a quarter of a million $$s to 1.5 million for six weeks work just to satisfy their patriotic whims. Such urges never put food on the table. As Vettori says, it would make sense for the ICC to recognise the trend and allocate a window to the IPL. At least some of the problems would go away. The alternative is to field two sets of players for the different formats.

It's a pity but I'm sure we'll find more and more countries cutting down on their test commitments to facilitate even their own IPL-like tournaments. In today's rat race people just cannot spare five days away from work and/or family. Something has to give.

The IPL, and other t20 comps, will unforch rule the roost for the next few years, but in the end, I suspect they'll fall victim to the same malaise that showed up f50 cricket as lacking substance as well.

The generally predictable nature of the match after the toss and a couple of overs of the first innings, combined with the inequitable 'risk v reward' nature of the extra-short game will see attendances fall steadily after a few years. In the case of 50-over stuff, it led to rule changes like fielding restrictions, power plays, and other 'innovations'. Given that these have already been implemented in t20 from the beginning, I don't think it'll take as long for the decline of the t20 form of the game to set in as it did for f50. Of course the ICC may have seen this, which could explain why there's a limit on the number of t20i matches a country can play each year.

Historical footnote: This was the 350 000th post on Flaming Bails.

Congrats on posting the 350,000th slice of literary genius.

If you were English, you'd get an open-topped bus parade and an MBE.

[Zat raises bat to all and sundry]

*all and sundry boo*

I don't think there was much time wasting in Zat's stellar innings.

Dello wrote:*all and sundry boo*

[Zat says all and sundry should visit the homepage linked to the left. With the volume up loud.]