The twenty over game has finally brought BCCI on top of the cricket administrative ladder. Even though India had the revenues when it came to international cricket England still held sway until recently. It had the MCC, the tradition, the counties where players from all over the world still come to play for the experience and the money. It also had the votes when it came to most issues at the ICC. Australia has been mostly happy playing second fiddle to the MCC first and then the ECB. West Indies was always a weak and mismanaged board always reliant on outside stimuli and mostly siding with the MCC and ECB. New Zealand though better managed had neither the players nor the market to match and was also usually compliant to the MCC and ECB wishes.
For all its cruelty towards ICL the BCCI must thank it for finally forcing it to implement the IPL. For the first time players from all over the world wished to play in a league outside England. Of course players from outside have played in Australian and other domestics but comparatively these numbers have been low. CA had no problems in assuming a secondary role here as they were used to it. The ECB on the other hand panicked at the sight of its supremacy being challenged. It negotiated itself out of the Champions League organization trying to come up with a rival league. Slowly it is coming to terms with the fact that it may have to treat BCCI at least as an equal. It probably also found some solace in the fact that still after all as far as the first class and list A cricket is concerned the counties are where most of the international players still show up. Will this interest lessen if for a few days of IPL players can make enough to not be tempted by it? No the conditions are at least not ripe for that to happen yet.
The losers in all this have been the smaller boards. While BCCI, CA and CSA joined hands for the Champions League and ECB made its arrangements with Stanford the others were at a loss. West Indies which had inducted Stanford into cricket were severely criticised by him for their mismanagement and may see reversals in that relationship with Stanford eyeing the English game more seriously (The ECB is yet at odds with itself and the MCC here. Everyone wants the Stanford money but not his influence). West Indies for the foreseeable future will become even more dependent on outside influences and will remain a very weak force.
Ranatunga tried to get Sri Lanka at least a piece of what the hegemony was going to divide amongst itself. He had to walk a fine line. In part he appeared strong in part autocratic. His players certainly did not wish to lose out on the IPL money and the government also seems inclined that the Sri Lankan cricket administrators remain mostly compliant to the BCCI as long as they can have at least a little bit of the money from the BCCIs coffers. Ranatunga may have done better if he had taken his players and the government (since the board comes directly under its control for now) into confidence and tried a more comprehensive approach. With him being sidelined it is clear that the Sri Lankan board will play the role of a satellite.
New Zealand's subjugation was obvious with the ban on Bond. This after they themselves had granted him the permission to play in the ICL. It has been a perennially weak force and nothing on the horizon appears to change that.
Zimbabwe of course has become a pariah to some and the decline in its cricket standards has left it as a non-member member. As for Bangladesh the boards constituting the hegemony are already trying to come up with ways on how not to invite them. In the weak position that they are there is no choice for Zimbabwe but to be fully in line with BCCI. Bangladesh may be a little put off by the BCCI suggestion that they should only stick to home series but what choice do they have. They will get some invitations from Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
That leaves PCB. With the problem of non-visiting sides it is turning into a non-entity if it was not already so for the last few years. It has no stake in the Champions League and its players positions in the IPL are under threat.
The hegemony will be fine. ECB and BCCI will come to an understanding. With the Australian team in the rebuilding phase CA will be even more subdued and busy with its own problems. The divide will be along the haves and have nots. West Indies cricket has already suffered because of it. New Zealand cricket will continue with its mostly mediocre existence and for the time being Zimbawe will fall further back. Bangladesh is so far behind that it can only improve and for now probably the only thing worrisome for them right now is not being invited by the hegemony boards. That leaves Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Two teams that do have enough in player resources to compete for now but they have to find a way to solve their financial issues independently to remain viable in the long term. Ranatunga's experiment to that end failed in Sri lanka and the PCB has not come up with any radically new ideas.
For all its cruelty towards ICL the BCCI must thank it for finally forcing it to implement the IPL. For the first time players from all over the world wished to play in a league outside England. Of course players from outside have played in Australian and other domestics but comparatively these numbers have been low. CA had no problems in assuming a secondary role here as they were used to it. The ECB on the other hand panicked at the sight of its supremacy being challenged. It negotiated itself out of the Champions League organization trying to come up with a rival league. Slowly it is coming to terms with the fact that it may have to treat BCCI at least as an equal. It probably also found some solace in the fact that still after all as far as the first class and list A cricket is concerned the counties are where most of the international players still show up. Will this interest lessen if for a few days of IPL players can make enough to not be tempted by it? No the conditions are at least not ripe for that to happen yet.
The losers in all this have been the smaller boards. While BCCI, CA and CSA joined hands for the Champions League and ECB made its arrangements with Stanford the others were at a loss. West Indies which had inducted Stanford into cricket were severely criticised by him for their mismanagement and may see reversals in that relationship with Stanford eyeing the English game more seriously (The ECB is yet at odds with itself and the MCC here. Everyone wants the Stanford money but not his influence). West Indies for the foreseeable future will become even more dependent on outside influences and will remain a very weak force.
Ranatunga tried to get Sri Lanka at least a piece of what the hegemony was going to divide amongst itself. He had to walk a fine line. In part he appeared strong in part autocratic. His players certainly did not wish to lose out on the IPL money and the government also seems inclined that the Sri Lankan cricket administrators remain mostly compliant to the BCCI as long as they can have at least a little bit of the money from the BCCIs coffers. Ranatunga may have done better if he had taken his players and the government (since the board comes directly under its control for now) into confidence and tried a more comprehensive approach. With him being sidelined it is clear that the Sri Lankan board will play the role of a satellite.
New Zealand's subjugation was obvious with the ban on Bond. This after they themselves had granted him the permission to play in the ICL. It has been a perennially weak force and nothing on the horizon appears to change that.
Zimbabwe of course has become a pariah to some and the decline in its cricket standards has left it as a non-member member. As for Bangladesh the boards constituting the hegemony are already trying to come up with ways on how not to invite them. In the weak position that they are there is no choice for Zimbabwe but to be fully in line with BCCI. Bangladesh may be a little put off by the BCCI suggestion that they should only stick to home series but what choice do they have. They will get some invitations from Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
That leaves PCB. With the problem of non-visiting sides it is turning into a non-entity if it was not already so for the last few years. It has no stake in the Champions League and its players positions in the IPL are under threat.
The hegemony will be fine. ECB and BCCI will come to an understanding. With the Australian team in the rebuilding phase CA will be even more subdued and busy with its own problems. The divide will be along the haves and have nots. West Indies cricket has already suffered because of it. New Zealand cricket will continue with its mostly mediocre existence and for the time being Zimbawe will fall further back. Bangladesh is so far behind that it can only improve and for now probably the only thing worrisome for them right now is not being invited by the hegemony boards. That leaves Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Two teams that do have enough in player resources to compete for now but they have to find a way to solve their financial issues independently to remain viable in the long term. Ranatunga's experiment to that end failed in Sri lanka and the PCB has not come up with any radically new ideas.
