STRAUSS: ENGLAND PLAYERS SHOULD BE INVOVLED IN IPL
Andrew Strauss believes that it will be only a matter of time until England players feature in the breakaway Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament. The England No3 knocked a career best unbeaten 177 in the third and final Test last week and clinched the series win in New Zealand.
But he thinks that the way to further popularise cricket is through the shortened format, and that a way to accommodate both forms must be found if the game is to evolve. The English Cricket Board issued a statement warning that if any centrally contracted England player were to play in the lucrative IPL, which begins at the end of the month, their deal would be ripped up.
Top players from other countries have signed up for the six-week competition and the Middlesex left-hander, 31, thinks England players should be allowed too.
He said: “I love the idea of the IPL and I’m sure at some stage the England players will be involved – that will be great for everyone to see.
“The IPL is going to change cricket to some extent, there is no doubt about that. It is just a question of how the expansion of the Twenty20 game fits in with the more traditional elements of Test cricket and one day cricket. That is for the big wigs at the International Cricket Council and ECB to work out.
“No one wants to see Test cricket go. It is just a question of marrying the two together and coming out with a solution that everyone is happy with.
“I like the fact that the game is going forward. I think that Twenty20 is a great format of the game – it introduces the game to a whole new audience and allows cricket to compete with the likes of football and the other bigger sports we have over here.
“The Twenty20 has brought a new audience, so that is a start. A lot of people are now watching cricket who never watched it before. The more people watching the game, the better.”
Andrew Strauss believes that it will be only a matter of time until England players feature in the breakaway Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament. The England No3 knocked a career best unbeaten 177 in the third and final Test last week and clinched the series win in New Zealand.
But he thinks that the way to further popularise cricket is through the shortened format, and that a way to accommodate both forms must be found if the game is to evolve. The English Cricket Board issued a statement warning that if any centrally contracted England player were to play in the lucrative IPL, which begins at the end of the month, their deal would be ripped up.
Top players from other countries have signed up for the six-week competition and the Middlesex left-hander, 31, thinks England players should be allowed too.
He said: “I love the idea of the IPL and I’m sure at some stage the England players will be involved – that will be great for everyone to see.
“The IPL is going to change cricket to some extent, there is no doubt about that. It is just a question of how the expansion of the Twenty20 game fits in with the more traditional elements of Test cricket and one day cricket. That is for the big wigs at the International Cricket Council and ECB to work out.
“No one wants to see Test cricket go. It is just a question of marrying the two together and coming out with a solution that everyone is happy with.
“I like the fact that the game is going forward. I think that Twenty20 is a great format of the game – it introduces the game to a whole new audience and allows cricket to compete with the likes of football and the other bigger sports we have over here.
“The Twenty20 has brought a new audience, so that is a start. A lot of people are now watching cricket who never watched it before. The more people watching the game, the better.”
Labels: Andrew Strauss, cricket, England, Indian Premier League, IPL, Middlesex
