Dubai option gives ECB room for manoeuvre
July 5th, 2008Having unlocked horns with their Indian counterparts over Zimbabwe, the ECB is about to go head-to-head with them again over the inaugural Champions League. The Indian Premier League (IPL), meanwhile, is influencing the timing of talks over the next England central contracts.
The ECB is determined not to agree regulations for the Champions League that it believes are too stringent against counties who have fielded players from the unofficial Indian Cricket League (ICL) and is emboldened by an option to lead an alternative competition, based in Dubai.
A compromise remains possible in which ICL players signed before a certain date are exempt, which may force finalists of the domestic Twenty20 Cup to miss out. However, the Dubai alternative would match the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) version in raising $250 million (about £125 million) over five years from stakeholders.
England central contracts, which run annually from October, are being discussed earlier than usual and, while David Collier, the ECB chief executive, cited the importance of commitments in 2009, the IPL’s courting of players including Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff, is creating urgency.
Contracts will include higher bonuses for Test success and are likely to quantify time available to play in the IPL. Players will want to see how dates marry up and, while they recognise the importance of rest before the Ashes series next summer, they may wish for longer than the mooted ten days.
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