A Money Grabbing Exercise?

[Ram]

You sell yourself and your own country short' date=' Sriram, by refusing to believe that concepts such as solidarity, compassion and refusal to give in to terrorists are tained by lust for money.[/quote'] I dont mean to be nitpicking Doc, but isnt this the very same English team, some of whose members were so evidently upset at having missed out on the spoils of the inaugural version of the IPL so much so that they literally forced their home board to organize a T20 tournament under the name of a Caribbean Billionaire? When the English players missed out on the IPL’s first season, many members right on this board hailed them for being selfless, but look what happened afterwards. Again, it may very well be that the collective decision of the English to come back may have very well been on grounds of solidarity and courage. If it is so, more power to them and I salute them. And I ask again Doc, as a mere hypothetical question. Just imagine what could have possibly happened had the English refused to tour us this time and a handful of their very same players returned just months later, to play in the IPL. Everyone would have labeled them hypocrites. I know that this is not necessarily related to what we’ve discussing here, but surely its something worth thinking about.

[triam]

I dont mean to be nitpicking Doc, but isnt this the very same English team, some of whose members were so evidently upset at having missed out on the spoils of the inaugural version of the IPL so much so that they literally forced their home board to organize a T20 tournament under the name of a Caribbean Billionaire? When the English players missed out on the IPL’s first season, many members right on this board hailed them for being selfless, but look what happened afterwards. Again, it may very well be that the collective decision of the English to come back may have very well been on grounds of solidarity and courage. If it is so, more power to them and I salute them. And I ask again Doc, as a mere hypothetical question. Just imagine what could have possibly happened had the English refused to tour us this time and a handful of their very same players returned just months later, to play in the IPL. Everyone would have labeled them hypocrites. I know that this is not necessarily related to what we’ve discussing here, but surely its something worth thinking about.

MM, yes they would have been labelled as hypocrites by the media or even some fans, so what? IPL is run by businessmen, and KP and flintoff are going to fetch top dollar, similar to how Andy Symmonds got top dollar even after the sydney fiasco. I would be highly surprised if any Indian would have the same kind of hatred to KP or Flintoff if they had pulled off this tour like they had for Simmo. IPL, is run by businessmen, they dont care about someone being a hypocrite, all they look for are 2 things, "How marketable is this person?" , "Will he help the team?". In other words, KP and Freddy atleast would have had no or minimal difference in what they were gonna paid whether England came back for the tests or not.

[Ram]

MM, yes they would have been labelled as hypocrites by the media or even some fans, so what? IPL is run by businessmen, and KP and flintoff are going to fetch top dollar, similar to how Andy Symmonds got top dollar even after the sydney fiasco. I would be highly surprised if any Indian would have the same kind of hatred to KP or Flintoff if they had pulled off this tour like they had for Simmo. IPL, is run by businessmen, they dont care about someone being a hypocrite, all they look for are 2 things, "How marketable is this person?" , "Will he help the team?". In other words, KP and Freddy atleast would have had no or minimal difference in what they were gonna paid whether England came back for the tests or not.

Fair points. I am not saying England should have come back for guys like KP and Freddie to win contracts, of course not. Their cricketing skills are enough to win them top dollar, just like it did for Symonds. I speak from a mere PR perspective.

[Ram]

Commercially unfeasible opponents England mull scrapping home series against Bangladesh Cricinfo staff December 20, 2008 England are planning to scrap home Test series against Bangladesh after 2010 because of the increasing commercial unfeasibility of such contests, suggest reports in the UK press. The move, if formalised at an ECB-organised conference next month, will come as yet another blow to a Bangladesh side struggling to justify its status as a Test-playing nation; they are already an unattractive invitee for India, which has refused to invite them for a tour since they became the tenth country to receive Test status in 2000. Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, told reporters in Mohali about plans to hold a conference next month in which ways to ensure the primacy of Test cricket will be discussed. According to the Independent, members of the England team, former England cricketers and directors of cricket at the 18 counties will meet in Leicester on January 19. Among other things on the agenda will be the quality of Test cricket and the number of one-sided contests. England, Clarke revealed, will not play Zimbabwe till they have a side of reasonable standard and, after 2010, will not invite Bangladesh, choosing instead to play there. "If we are going to have a proper strategy for Test cricket we want to have games like that we have just had in Chennai," Clarke said. "It showed everybody just what a Test can be. There is a very hard-fought game between Australia and South Africa taking place in Perth at the moment. We have to make sure that the standard is there. Our friends in India feel pretty similarly." A spokesman for the ECB, however, downplayed Clarke's stance. "The meeting on January 19 is designed to discuss every aspect of international cricket, from over-rates to crowds to development to staging," he told Cricinfo. "It's about seeking an improvement at every level, not about deciding who England should play." The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) said it would not react to Clarke's comments. "We have nothing to say at this stage unless we receive any official communication from the ECB on this matter or from the ICC," Jalal Yunus, BCB's media committee chairman, said. An ICC spokesperson told Cricinfo that it expected all current FTP commitments to be fulfilled, and any subsequent arrangements would only emerge after the ICC board had decided on a way forward after the current FTP ends in 2012. "The ICC expects all its members to fulfill their obligations under the FTP," the official said. "The ECB will fulfill this obligation by hosting Bangladesh in 2010. The nature of the ICC's FTP after 2012 is currently under discussion within the ICC board. From the ICC's perspective, we would like all members to play each other as often as possible. If the ECB chairman has a specific view on this, he can put them before the ICC board, of which he is a director." According to the FTP, Bangladesh tour England in May 2010 for two Tests and three ODIs. Bangladesh, who were given Test status in 2000, have only one win in 57 Tests, that too against Zimbabwe. Though they have come close to upsetting Pakistan, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, they have mostly struggled to avoid heavy defeat. A mass defection of players to the ICL recently has also severely depleted their resource pool. With India, cricket's current financial centre, already not keen on hosting them, Clarke's comments suggest they won't soon be touring the spiritual home of cricket, which will only intensify the scrutiny on their Test status. © Cricinfo http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/england/content/current/story/383564.html ----------------------------------- Doc, Can I take the liberty to say 'Money talks, quite loudly'?

[Dhondy]

Of course you can. However, note that England hasn't cancelled BD tours. Their proud record of travelling in the face of riots, war, terrorism, global upheaval and utter mediocrity, stands. Therefore, your premise is different from the one in the OP of this thread.

[Ram]

Of course you can. However, note that England hasn't cancelled BD tours. Their proud record of travelling in the face of riots, war, terrorism, global upheaval and utter mediocrity, stands. Therefore, your premise is different from the one in the OP of this thread.

Fair enough. As you had pointed out earlier, they continued the tour amidst the riots '84, when India was nowhere the status it is today and there were no commercial considerations then and more power to them for that. But, in today's world of multi-millions, its impossible to separate political/security considerations from economic ones.