Twenty20

Here’s a reality check - four days after Middlesex beat Kent in the most thrilling Twenty20 Cup final yet, the English finalists could face the Twenty20 Champions League freeze.

England’s two premier Twenty20 challengers may be excluded from competing in India as The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is adamant on its ruling that no players who played in the rebel ICL will be allowed to take part.

Under those laws Middlesex would be eligible but Kent duo Azhar Mahmood and Justin Kemp both turned out in the IPL rival competition.

Australia and South Africa have sided with India, thus putting an end to a possible ECB organised alternative in Abu Dhabi.

Despite all the obvious riches available, missing out on a shot at the title of World Club Champions would hurt more.
 
The BCCI confirmed the eight-team tournament would commence between September 29 and 8 October with the winners walking away with a whopping £3m pot.

Eight teams will play 15 matches with the top two from each group qualifying for the semi-finals.

The opening Ceremony was a wash out...

We're getting annoyed at EatCricket HQ. And it's not only Wimbledon that is getting on our nerves. Here we are, with cricket about to enter yet more unchartered waters in the form of the money spinning Twenty20 events, and the ruling bodies are engaged in a pissing contest. IPL? ICL? BCCI? RAF? What, in the name of all that is sacred, is going on now...

What's the beef?
Tesco finest salt-beef with dijon mustard on multigrain today...

Ha-de-bloody-ha, come on, I haven't got time for this...
Ok, not content with ruling the roost this summer, the Indian Cricket board are refusing to let any rival ICL players play in the Champions League...

But why?
As far as we can see, greed and hubris.

Hummus? How does that effect English teams?
Shut it. Well, 15 of the 18 Counties have players with ICL links...

And if they choose to register them should they go through?
The BCCI will make their own decision...

Which means they'll ban them?
Yes, which is a tart, because the ICL players will be vital in the format.

Where do we go from here then?
The pub, followed by Dehli to have a word, followed by prison...

And the tournament?
Cricket Australia are due to present the rules next week, then the gloves are off...

"Listen EatCricket, I will not lend you a monkey..."

Stone the crows; does Twenty20 ever stop to draw breath? hot on the heels of the furore surrounding the Champions League announcement, the ECB have agreed to play the West indies in a one-off , £10 million, winner-takes-all tournament called The Stanford Cup. It will held every Autumn for the next five years. So what's the 411...?

So that's £50m over five years, right?
Correctumundo...

Don't do that, ever. How does it work?
England play against the Stanford All-Stars, made up of players from the existing Caribbean Stanford Cup...

Who's this Allen Stanford fella?
Texas-born millionaire committed to sorting out the structure of sport in The Caribbean...

So KP gets his wish then?
If England win he does...

No appearance fees?
Nope, £500,000 per winning player...

But that's only £5.5 million...
Ooh, get you. Another million is then spread between the victorious team and coaches...

But that's onl..
Yes, I know, give me chance. The other £3.5 million is split between the England and West Indies cricket boards...

Didn't we propose that yesterday?
Yes we did, I'm just cleaning off the crystal ball to check the winner of next year's Ashes...

Click here to see the 2008 final between Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica...

"Think of all the tinnies..."

Is there anything, except perhaps Ryan Sidebottom's hair, that is more incendiary than Twenty20? With the furore over the IPL still raging, the announcement of a Twenty20 Champions League - set for the autumn somewhere in the land of silk and money that is the Middle East - has, predictably, caused further ructions amongst the governing bodies of the game. So what's the big idea?

So then, the top two Twenty20 sides from England, India, Australia and South Africa it is then?
Correct, though the IPL aren't happy about it....

Bit rich isn't it. What's the beef?
Well, IPL commissioner Lalit Modi has said he will ban any player with ICL links from playing...

But why?
No good reason, other than wanting the IPL to remain as the banner tournament...

How does that effect the ECB?
Puts them in a right pickle; if the agree with Modi, several counties will miss out...

And if they don't?
Then they risk being sued, and Modi will block them anyway...

Surely it benefits everyone to further raise the profile of Twenty20?
You'd think so...

Big prize money?
$5 million to the winning team, compared to £42,000 for winning the domestic tournament...

How does this effect the future of the game?
It can be a positive if they use the EatCricket plan.

What, go down the pub?
No, scrap one-day cricket altogether and protect Test and four-day cricket with ferocity, with a cut of all Twenty20 profits worldwide going to development of Test cricket.

Sounds like a plan. What next?
Watch this space....

Like a bolt from the blue or from somewhere else, Sri Lanka's little big man Sanath Jayasuriya will now be unavailable for Warwickshire's Twenty20 Cup campaign after being named in Sri Lanka's squad for the Asia Cup in Pakistan. "The news comes out of the blue," says Warwickshire's Director of Cricket Ashley Giles. "It's disappointing especially given his recent form in the IPL." Lest we forget, Jayasuriya is the only player to score more than 12,000 runs and take more than 300 wickets in the 50-over game. In short, it's a big loss to the Bears.