Death Knell For County Cricket?
Their is a distinct possibility that County Cricket could have the stuffing knocked out of it by the new and lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL), which starts this year.
The ECB are taking a firm stance, refusing to allow the centrally contracted players to compete and refusing to modify the English County season to allow County players to take part. This could however, backfire on them.
I don’t doubt that the International Players will tow the line as the money on offer won’t merit them losing their England place, ( and I hope the pride of playing their country will play no small part). However, for County players who have a limited window of opportunity when it comes to earning potential, the temptations may be too great.
This could lead to the better players leaving and thereby reducing the quality of the county leagues and ultimately damage the National side. Maybe the ECB would do better to follow the New Zealand cricket board example and accommodate the players - they have allowed 5 players including the skipper to miss the start of the England tour so that they can compete.
This might be a solution which prevents the demise of English cricket, although would mean the ECB actually being a little flexible of course and move with the times. So far only Mascharenhas has signed but the writing is on the wall.