In what is probably a augury tale in regards to English County cricket, Shane Warne has opted out on the final year of his not so insignificant contract with Hampshire for business and personal reasons.
However, Shane will still be playing cricket for the Jaipur based Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League that begins in around three weeks time.
Warne has been instrumental in recruiting his Hampshire team-mates Dimi Mascarenhas and Shane Watson to Jaipur and I can only imagine that Hampshire chairman Rod Brangrove is less than impressed with Warne’s actions despite his diplomatic public utterings.
The rupee-laden Indian T20 tournaments, both official and unsanctioned, are affecting cricket at the top levels in a way that we haven’t seen since the 1970’s with World Series Cricket and the 1980’s with the morally questionable rebel tours to the then Apartheid dominated South Africa.
In the last few weeks we have seen New Zealand and South Africa field less than their best teams in Test matches and it would seem that only the richest cricketing nations will be able to prevent their best players from falling to the temptation of easy money on the sub-continent.
Cricket Australia, well aware of the long-term damage that rebel organisations can cause to the game, have so far been willing to accomodate their best players but a few fringe players have opted out of contracts to take a full-time place in India.
Jason Gillespie while still contracted to the national board retired from first-class cricket and is now preparing to play in India. Brad Hogg likewise. There is a suspicion that Adam Gilchrist’s decision to retire was made all the easier by the truckloads of cash he will receive from the IPL.
There are rumblings in England that there could soon be a player revolt at many of their best players missing out on the gold rush and if that happens, and here at 99.94 we hope it does not, then only Australia and India will be relatively unaffected by the new league.
Although I am anticipating the IPL with some enthusiasm I’m beginning to see the dangers it holds for the rest of the cricketing landscape. I can see a time in the not so distant future where only two or three nations regularly compete with their best eleven.
And that, however you look at it, cannot be good for the game of cricket.
Posted in First Class, New Zealand, South Africa, T20, australia, cricket, england, india | Tags: australia, cricket, england, hampshire, IPL, jaipur, rajasthan royals, shane warne, sports, T20
