Best things about the IPL so far......

1.McCullum's innings on friday

2.Mike Hussey's innings on saturday

3. The opening ceremony

4. Players appearing to be genuinely enthusiastic about the tournament

5.Players from different countries playing on the same team together and appearing genuinely pleased with each others success (Ponting ruffling up Ishant's hair after taking a wicket, for example)

6. The cheerleaders

7. A packed Eden Gardens and a packed Wankhede....Both going off

8. Ganguly's drama Queen performance after being hit in the ribs by a 120kph ball from Chaminda Vaas last night

It's all really depressing really. Cricket wise this is the lowest common denominator and the basic ecconomics of it mean that the IPL is here to stay.

20-20 was ok to bring in crouds to see counties play each other. No point being a professional sportsman if you never play before a full house. The IPL though is making the richest richer and the rest can go hang.

From an English perspective, thicko, normal County cricketers are pretty well off. If they're 'decent' anyway. But I agree that the world stars are earning more on top of their already handsome purse. But then, the argument comes that the IPL are only going to make money off the back of their stars, therefore the prestige is the players, therefore it's a reciprocal arrangement.

The best thing about the IPL so far are the cheerleaders. Unforch, the cameramen are too frigid to give the audience a proper blast at them.

Brass Monkey wrote:The best thing about the IPL so far are the cheerleaders. Unforch, the cameramen are too frigid to give the audience a proper blast at them.

Sage.

Best things so far:
Ponting's team-mates asking him for advice (rather than Gin Gan).
GinGan getting belted in the ribs (and everyone cheering the bowler).
Kallis getting tonked.
Boucher being totally bamboozled trying to keep to the spinners.

I watched the first 2 overs and thought, WGAF?

Good times...

Brass Monkey wrote:The best thing about the IPL so far are the cheerleaders. Unforch, the cameramen are too frigid to give the audience a proper blast at them.

Um, focussed quite a bit on them during the second match yesterday.

taipan wrote:

Brass Monkey wrote:The best thing about the IPL so far are the cheerleaders. Unforch, the cameramen are too frigid to give the audience a proper blast at them.

Um, focussed quite a bit on them during the second match yesterday.

Apologies. My dedication has obviously waned. I shall attempt to keep an eye out.

Why have they imported the cheerleaders?

freddled gruntbuggly wrote:Best things so far:
Ponting's team-mates asking him for advice (rather than Gin Gan).
GinGan getting belted in the ribs (and everyone cheering the bowler).
Kallis getting tonked.
Boucher being totally bamboozled trying to keep to the spinners.

Probably just Murali Kartik seeking out tips on how to 'grow' hair back on his head.

Ponting apparently is quite popular in the team though.

Positive(s)
Only 2 Pakistani players have participated in ICL so far. Hope the rest are dropped because of that silly 4 players rule.

The first few days have attracted an Indian TV audience around the 20 million mark which is a record. This is prime time TV viewing competing with the popular soapies.

It will be interesting to see if this is sustainable after the initial hype and that will depend purely on whether the fans can bond to an assortment of cricketers united under a city banner.

This is prime time TV viewing competing with the popular soapies.

And that's the nub of T20. It's mass appeal entertainment of the cricket genre.

It's an alternative to a soapie or a movie with an all star cast of owners, commentary team & players.

Warnie's spell and Captaincy for the Rajasthan team against Punjab.

PlanetPakistan wrote:Positive(s)
Only 2 Pakistani players have participated in ICL so far. Hope the rest are dropped because of that silly 4 players rule.

How is this a positive and why do you want them to be dropped?

I don't think most people have watched the IPL so far because they're loyal to a city. Just to watch high quality T20.

doremi wrote:I don't think most people have watched the IPL so far because they're loyal to a city. Just to watch high quality T20.

High quality T20 . . . . chortle

***cough***

we are dangerously in agreement again tac

That's alright, I saw you agreeing with Danny the other night . . . FFS!

your kidding...i don't remember him saying the dubbers were dullards, the english overrated or that the ancient romans were ace

...aah that's better ain't it can't stand all that agreeable tosh

Didn't you rate that crab-on-stick dullard Shiv above the sparkling footwork of Pup?

...of course...also rate him ahead of fleas...shiv knows how to catch , the kid doesn't...i am persuaded by Rod Hogg's view of clarke...the other day on seeing clarke in a green uniform, Hoggy said "how can we allow someone who looks like maid marion to be our next captain?"...clarke has a long way to go to he is a consistent player...he showed the fred astaire footwork in england in 2005...didn't do him or the team much good

Phurt, he's had the hair cut and he's been very consistent since his comeback to the baggy green . . . I rate him . . . (not as highly as NotParis, but that's another story . . .)

now he looks like a maid marion after chemotherapy