Twenty20 / Paul Moon / 26 September 2009 / Leave a comment

Paul Moon is a staunch supporter of anything which makes cricket more popular around the world and whether we really need two ICC tournaments in three months or not, our man is looking forward to two weeks of T20...

"Accelerating the global development of cricket is an objective that we all subscribe to but will this be achieved by overloading an already congested calendar?"

In April 2009 we witnessed the second IPL Twenty20 competition and the ICC Twenty20 World Cup followed in June. Then the English and Australians had a five-match Ashes series followed by a seven-match batch of ODIs. In September we have the Champions Trophy followed by the Champions League Twenty20 in October.

Whilst I do not sympathise with tired cricketers (individually they play much less cricket these days) I do fear that fans might be experiencing overkill. Despite Dave Richardson (ICC General Manager) reminding us that 2009 is a unique year with two ICC events falling in the space of three months, scheduling remains a recurring problem that is unlikely to ease.

Accelerating the global development of cricket is an objective that we all subscribe to but will this be achieved by overloading an already congested calendar? Since the advent of the IPL in April 2008 cricket administrators are keen to capitalise on this success but there will be consequences to the 'confetti money' mentality.

Players are increasingly materialistic. As avarice sets in playing for your country is no longer the ultimate that it once was. Bank balances are now more important than caps. Even renowned Australian player agent Neil Maxwell has said that good young players will opt for money over a cap and he should know.

Be assured that Andrew Flintoff's decision to go freelance will have severe ramifications for International cricket. The floodgates have been opened so prepare for another 'Kerry Packer' type crisis! This new mercenary breed will justify their actions by claiming they want to test themselves against the best cricketers. I am reminded of a poem:

The gravy train is gathering pace
As cricketers ply their trade
They travel the globe with outstretched hands
And count how much they made...

It seems a new competition is being unveiled every year but you cannot help but be intrigued by a lucrative two-week tournament called the Twenty20 Champions League. There is an element of the Football Champions League about it. With 12 top teams from Australia, England, India, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka and West Indies competing over two weeks for part of the £3.6million prize fund between 8-23 October 2009, it promises something different.

Fabulous and remarkable news for Somerset and English fans is that Marcus Trescothick will not only be competing in the Champions League but he will be staying in India with the team and not commuting from the UAE. The arrangements have been finalised. Though he backed out of appearing in Somerset's 2008 pre-season tour to the Middle East, he is much happier and cannot wait to hit his first boundary off the Deccan Chargers bowlers at Hyderabad on 10th October 2009.

Trescothick sees the NSW Blues as the biggest dangers, followed by the Deccan Chargers. The Betfair market is still not fully formed for the Champions Twenty20 League 2009/10 at the moment but early prices show: Delhi Daredevils [5.0] Deccan Chargers [6.0] New South Wales [7.0] Victoria [7.0] Royal Challengers Bangalore [8.0] Sussex [10.0] Cape Cobras [11.0] Otago [11.0] Trinidad and Tobago [11.0] Wayamba [11.0] Eagles [13.0] and Somerset [13.0].

Trescothick reminded us that the NSW Blues won the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash earlier this year and include many Aussie internationals. However, they will be without duo Brad Haddin (finger injury) and Michael Clarke (resting). Trescothick believes they are the team to beat though the Indian teams have a huge advantage, playing in their own conditions with access to 10 international players!

Royal Challengers Bangalore coach Ray Jennings disagrees about the chances of an Indian side winning the competition. He reminded us all that the sides in this Champions League are seriously better than the IPL sides. An interesting sub-plot is that Victorian coach Greg Shipperd will know exactly what Delhi are about because he coaches them during the IPL season. His assistant David Staker now takes charge of the Daredevils.

Tags: Andrew Flintoff, Cricket betting, Marcus Trescothick, Paul Moon, Twenty20 Champions League