Nelson's Column - No thanks, Sir Allen

This is the face of the man who flew into Lord's by helicopter on Wednesday morning to fundamentally change the landscape of English cricket.

It's the man who in November will make our cricketers instant millionaires. It's the Texan billionaire to whom the ECB have eagerly and reverentially said: "Yes, Sir Allen".

Sir Allen Stanford has arranged an annual Twenty20 match between England and a West Indies All-Star team, the winners of which will get $1m per man.

Coming so swiftly after the announcement of the Twenty20 Champions League, and just months after the inaugural IPL tournament, it's further proof that the crash-bang-wallop version of the game will take precedence - if not erode or even eventually destroy - the traditional formats of the sport.

The reason for that, of course, is money. Far from hiding this, Stanford and the ECB celebrate it - the press conference to unveil details of the Antigua jamboree was conducted in front of a guarded tank containing $20million in cash.

Does anyone else find this utterly vulgar and unpalatable? When the focus is on the money rather than the sport, aren't we left with something soulless and distasteful, devoid of all the elements that made, for example, England's 2005 Ashes victory so emotionally satisfying?

The purists are worried about the future of Test cricket (fears which Stanford did nothing to soothe by calling the five-day game 'boring'). Some say Test cricket's future is guaranteed because of its popularity, but only in England and Australia does one see packed stadia at Test matches. Everywhere else - including, importantly, India - crowds only flock in for limited overs games. How long will the ICC resist these market forces and start to prioritise differently?

Modern cricketers will be licking their lips at these unprecedented and startlingly sudden rewards, but for those who value the soul, history and traditions of the game these are anxious times indeed.

Is cricket selling its soul? Is this influx of cash actually good for the game? Do you prefer Test or Twenty20 cricket? Tell us now using the boxes below.

Comments

[Rebecca]

Well thanks for the constructive feedback there Yeovil dude! Just the sort of measured, sensible and intelligent response I'd been hoping for! You really answered my questions and got to the root of my fears there! I was particularly grateful for your reassurance that your updates on the trials of Yeovil Town will continue as that really was one of the main concerns raised! Thank you!

Seriously though, what the hell have Yeovil Town got to do with ‘Stetson Stanford’ and his T20 circus?!!! Maybe you should stick to your little football blogs and leave the real issues to others as you’re clearly intimidated by a healthy debate!

[yeoviltrue]

Bloody 'ell Rebecca, ever heard of 'less is more'. You could whinge for England.
Anyway, keen followers of my previous blogs may be somewhat relieved to learn that it looks like Yeovil Town may at last be taking action and signing a few players in their attempt at League 1 survival. I'll keep you all posted.

[Rebecca]

To Bobby BigBalls: Money coming into the game is a great thing and I'm a fan of anything that promotes the game and distracts from the dominance of football. However, you have to be very careful not to forget that one of the very many wonderful things about cricket is that it's not as money oriented as football or baseball and that there is more to the game than the almighty dollar. There's passion, pride, skill and fair play and I shan't apologise if I sound like a 'middle-class Tory voter' for spouting these ideals because these are the very things that make cricket special! I'm not so naive as to suggest that these players (in particular county players who stand to make more money in a game than they could've made in their whole career previously!) wouldn't be tempted by the big money surrounding 20Twenty. Of course money is important. A cricketer's career is a short one and they can't be blamed for wanting to make as much money as possible is such a short time. But the blindly cynical attitude emanating from your blog is deeply saddening. Test cricket is real cricket no matter how much fun this 'crash (or should that be CASH?!), bang, wallop' form of the game is, that shouldn't be forgotten. It's only in Test cricket that a batsman's technique, patience and ability are truly Tested: Only in Test cricket does a bowler have the time to work on a batsman, display his full repertoire of deliveries, get inside the batsman's mind: Only in Test cricket can a captain marshal his side in the field, moving his fielders around like pieces on a chessboard, setting traps and formulating plans. All this subtlety and skill is in danger of being lost from the game entirely if we allow the shortened form of the game to hold sway. We'll be left not with cricket but with a diluted, razzmatazz version of cricket; an Anglicised version of baseball where each boundary is met with the crazed whooping of a dozen scantily-clad cheerleaders and each wicket with the derisory jeers of 50,000 spectators waving foam fingers at the dismissed batsman! It’s just not cricket! And nor should it be! 20Twenty is fabulous and long may it continue. But cricketing bodies around the world need to take a firm stand with these billionaire tycoons and remind them that for all their money, despite what they may believe, they are NOT as important as the game of cricket! They should do all in their power to inject money back into Test cricket, to protect the game’s heart and soul, so as to ensure its survival. Without its heart and soul, cricket I fear, will go the same way as football – and nobody should want that to happen.

[Bobby Bigballs]

W a l o f n

[Stewart Jones, South London]

Typical middle-class Tory-voting rubbish! How can a flood of money into the game be a bad thing? Cricket can challenge the domainance and popularity of football, widening it's appeal to new markets. Besides, do you really think they only play for the pride of representing their country now? Would they do it for free? Would they hell. If you don't think sport is already all about money, think again. Stanford and the IPL are only being honest about it.