This has been given an extra rev on the throttle by the spectre of the England and Wales Cricket Board’s own plans for a competition to piggy-back the IPL/Big Bash format from 2020, an evisceration of the domestic status quo that is already casting its shadow.Ĭhange is coming.
Last teas in the clubhouse, boys.Īgainst this, Twenty20 franchise cricket – which is brash, new and unforgivably successful – was always likely to be cast by some as a malign alien influence. The weeds grow thick around the clapboard pavilion. Not that English cricket needs much encouragement in this, a summer game where the default setting has often tended to be angst, gloomy lament, a conviction that all that is good has long since passed. The IPL has always been a shadow presence in England at this time of year, kicking off at the same time as the County Championship, and providing its own point of contrast, and indeed some genuine anxiety too. Mainly it feels a little closer to home, and not just because of the presence of Stokes, Buttler, Tymal Mills, Eoin Morgan, Sam Billings, Chris Woakes, Jason Roy and Chris Jordan. The IPL does feel a little different this year. Hence the extra layer of jollity to the festivities, with fireworks, dancers, speeches and a beaming, waving David Warner being driven around in a spangled golf buggy, like a very jolly cartoon tiger running for president. This week marks the start of the 10th edition, billed as an anniversary affair in its opening exchanges. The IPL is upon us once again, here for another very special season just a little bit more special than the last very special season.
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