On the eve of the 2011 IPL and English County Championship, it was interesting to read about the shot in the arm for counties provided by the forthcoming tour of England by India. The ECB's deal with ESPN, linked to the two-month visit by Dhoni et al this summer, could net almost £20m for English cricket. This would be particularly handy following heavy losses by most counties in 2010 and a likely drop in revenues in 2012 when all sports sponsors will have their eyes on the five-ring circus which rolls into London town.
When I was younger, I always used to look forward to the West Indies tours: 1973, 1976, 1984, in particular. Of course there were the Ashes encounters in between, but the Caribbean calypso style of cricket and exuberant crowds had the edge for me. Now, with India the administrative and financial cricket powerhouse, the home of the biggest money-spinning tournament in the IPL and now the national team world champions, they are the new focal point of the international game. For me, the arrival of Tendulkar, Sehwag, Dhoni, Yuvraj, Raina, Zaheer Khan and co has almost the same cache as the promise of Richards, Lloyd, Greenidge, Holding and Marshall in the '70s and '80s. It's more than just money for counties, it's about entertainment for the crowds. In the last decade, a tour by India or Pakistan was seen in the media as a way of spurring interest in cricket amongst the Asian communities in Britain. Now it should be recognised as cricket's PR event for all fans, young and old, regardless of ethnic origin. Tendulkar and Dhoni deserve to be more role models for English youngsters than KP or Matt Prior, good players though they are.
The British Press - and political bandwagons seem obsessed by the Ashes and when England won in 2005 the whole squad received MBEs! I doubt Tony Blair would have doled out the honours even if England had won the World Cup! This summer, we are extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to host not just one World Cup finalist but both, with Sri Lanka serving up a tasty first course consisting of three Tests, a T20 game and five ODIs. A week later, I look forward to watching India play at Taunton as a prelude to the season's main course of four Tests, another T20I and four one-dayers.
The hectic international cricket calendar probably means we will never have the chance to enjoy watching India's best players on the county circuit, barring the occasional T20 cameo, as we did in my youth with the West Indian stars, but for now let's enjoy the treats India can serve up for us financially and on the pitch. Their World Cup triumph could not only prolong the life of international 50-over cricket but, in a roundabout way, the lengthy career of the English domestic game. I hope so.
