Panchkula  : Darren Maddy is ‘Dazza’ to friends. And here at the Indian Cricket League, he has a lot of friends – “I am trying to pick up the local language”. Playing for the Kolkata Tigers, Maddy had a dream spell against the Chandigarh Lions (4 for 6) but he still feels the Twenty-20 format is loaded in batsman’s favour.The English player is also hopeful that the England and Wales Cricket Board would not banish him from playing at the ICL, and feels that a players body in India could have averted the situation the Indian ‘rebels’ are facing.

Sportline spoke to him even as he was preparing for Kolkata Tigers’ next match.

* How do you feel playing such cricket outside of England, especially in India? What are your thoughts on the ICL and the pitch here at Panchkula that has been reworked for this championship.?
Maddy: Oh, I am enjoying every bit of touring and playing my cricket in India. It has been five years since I last visited India. Although, one doesn’t find seaming pitches in India but it is always a challenge to play on the Indian strips. The pitch here (Panchkula) was initially very slow and had unpredictable bounce. But as the tournament is progressing it is now an even contest between the bat and ball.

* What made you join ICL, knowing the fact that the England and Wales Cricket Board was apprehensive in allowing its players to take part in the championship?
Maddy: Well, my experience has been spectacular till date. It is an innovative concept which has given a good chance to the cricketers from all over the world to share a common podium and perform. It would be wrong if I say that the money offered by the organisers wasn’t a major factor. Moreover, we are getting to play competitive cricket at this time, which happens to be an off season in county cricket. For sure my game would get better and I would be raring to go when the county games start in April. Yeah, ECB had some issues with England players joining the ICL, but due to the backing of Professional Cricketers Association (PCA) I went felt encouraged to play.

* How important was PCA’s role in this issue? Don’t you think it is high time the Indian players too had a body that safeguards players’ interest and represents them?
Maddy: All the credit goes to the PCA for convincing the ECB on the ICL issue. It is really sad to realise that the Indian domestic players of such talent won’t be representing their country anymore. There is an urgent need of a body such as PCA here in India for the benefit of the players.

* Do you think that your participation in the Championship will act as a deterrent to your cricket career?
Maddy: No at all, I am confident that my participation in the Indian Cricket League will not harm my future in the game.

* What are your thoughts on the Panchkula Stadium?
Maddy: The Stadium is an absolute stunner knowing the fact that it has been re-worked in just a month. The craze for the game in India is tremendous and it is visible when spirited spectators turn out to witness the ongoing matches. The electric atmosphere at the Stadium turns the heat on while playing.

If you’re a sports aficionado, a late-November game between the Lions and the Jets means a battle of attrition between two of American Football’s perennial strugglers. It’s not usually a match-up that you pencil into your calendar as a highlight of the sporting year, and there’s seldom much at stake other than professional pride.

But last Friday, at an obscure stadium on the outskirts of one of north India’s smaller cities, the Lions of Chandigarh and the Delhi Jets fought out a twenty-over game that could have far-reaching ramifications as far as the game of cricket is concerned.

There may have been only 6,000 people watching, but that represented a full house for the Tau Devi Lal Stadium, a far more modest venue than Ford Field or Giants Stadium.

As is the case with their North American namesakes, there were few marquee names on view. The Lions were led by Chris Cairns, the New Zealander who flirted with greatness throughout an injury-interrupted career, and also included the South African Andrew Hall, an effective all-rounder but hardly a show-stopper.

The Jets were captained by Sri Lankan Marvan Atapattu, a man who had a successful international career only after the most horrendous start imaginable - he scored one run in his first six Test innings. By twenty-over standards, it was an uninspiring game.

The big hits were few and far between, though the fielding was far superior to that usually seen at domestic matches in India. The Lions, who have home-field advantage right through the inaugural Indian Cricket League with all the matches being played in Panchkula, just edged it at the end, with Hall bowling a tidy final over that cost just five runs.

The result didn’t matter though. What did was the response of the crowd packed into the hurriedly constructed stands, many of whom had opted to give TV coverage of the Indian run-fest at the Eden Gardens a miss.

The outfield may have been patchy and there may have been a lack of genuine stardust in the middle, but the assembled throng lapped up the entertainment on offer.

Kareena Kapoor, a Bollywood star, was central to an off-field performance that included song, dance, cheerleaders and fireworks - in short, everything that you might get to see at a Super Bowl.

The striking contrast was with the Twenty20 tournament that the Indian cricket board organised last April in the wake of the Blue Billion’s dream turning into a nightmare at the World Cup.

Though the format was a novel one as far as India was concerned, it ended up just like any other domestic tournament, with matches played out in eerie silence and utter indifference from fans seduced only by the bright lights of international cricket.

You couldn’t blame them either. As far as the board is concerned, the fans are almost a necessary evil, cattle to be herded into shabby stands and provided with facilities worse than that found in most stables.

No one can bring in their own food or water, and the indifferent refreshments on offer include junk food and colas - only those endorsed by the board of course.

As for the toilets, God forbid you should ever need to use the facilities. At the Eden Gardens, India’s answer to the MCG and Lord’s, two toilets cater to a cavernous stand that houses thousands and the press box.

If start of play is 9am, it’s safe to say that these are unusable by half past nine. Often, there isn’t even running water.

When you then get a competition that actually appears to care about the average punter, an enthusiastic response shouldn’t be surprising. The ICL staged a coup of sorts by pricing the cheapest tickets at a hundred Rupees [£1.25], a far cry from BCCI events where sub-standards seats in the sun go for five times the price.

Will the concept work, and force the Indian board to look to change? That’s still doubtful, given the lack of big names in the ICL. Brian Lara and Inzamam-ul-Haq lead the Mumbai Champs and the Hyderabad Heroes, but like Cairns and Lance Klusener (now with the Kolkata Tigers), they’re has-beens on the lookout for a fast buck.

Not one big name currently plying his trade in international cricket is on board, with Mohammad Yousuf now facing court action after reneging on his contract.

By comparison, the ICL’s rival Indian Premier League claims to have agreed terms with a sizeable number of international cricket’s great and good. It appears certain that only one will be left standing eventually, and given the Indian predilection for stars, it will most likely be the ICL that shuts shop or sells out.

If Indian domestic cricket is ever to be vibrant, the only way is to ensure the participation of the top players in at least some of the games. A Ranji Trophy semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium in April 2000 best illustrated that. Tamil Nadu piled up 485, with Robin Singh - currently India’s fielding coach - and Hemang Badani - now of the ICL’s Chennai Superstars in the - scoring big hundreds.

A few dozen and the obligatory stray dog had watched the opening day’s play, but once Sachin Tendulkar started to show signs of playing a special innings, word spread quickly. By the third day, thousands - stockbrokers, diamond merchants, tea vendors and journalists supposed to be on the desk - had come through the turnstiles to watch one of the great innings in domestic cricket.

Tendulkar finished unbeaten on 233, and Mumbai had a precious five-run lead that they would build on en route to yet another trophy. Tendulkar has hardly played for Mumbai since and the crowds have responded by staying away.

Ultimately, all the Kareena Kapoors of the world won’t bring them back. Only a Tendulkar, a Ganguly or a Dhoni can do that.

AS REBEL Twenty20 Indian Cricket League tournament chairman Kapil Dev expressed his desire to sign Australia’s elite players, the Board of Control for Cricket in India is considering an “amnesty” so the ICL’s international brigade can switch camps.

The BCCI “olive branch” approach to the likes of West Indian great Brian Lara, Australians Stuart Law and Ian Harvey, Kiwis Chris Cairns and Nathan Astle, former Pakistan skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq, South Africa’s Lance Klusener and Sri Lankans Russel Arnold and Marvan Atapattu is viewed as a strategy to derail the breakaway league.

If the players accept the offer it will not only beef up the Indian Premier League’s “star power” which includes Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Michael Clarke, Brett Lee and Michael Hussey — but also pave the way for them to win the mind-boggling revenue from the subcontinent’s lucrative pay-TV market.

“We could allow the foreign players to play in the Indian Premier League if they terminate their contracts with ICL,” BCCI vice-president Rajiv Shukla told reporters in India.

Dev said the ICL remained committed to luring the best possible players to the made-for-TV competition. “We are basically feeding international cricket,” Dev told The Sunday Age.

“We are only trying to increase the amount of cricket being played. If anyone is nervous, I’m very sorry.

“We’ll welcome everybody. We want more cricketers from Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Australia. We want the best of the best here.

“We don’t want to spoil cricket, we don’t intend to upset the international calendar.

“The ICC should be happy with what we’re trying to do. We aren’t trying to offend anyone, we are simply increasing the amount of cricket,” Dev said.

The ICL has suggested it will up the ante by taking the modified version of the game to North America, where there is a large number of students and workers from many of the cricket-playing nations like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

The rebel league was founded by the owner of Zee TV after he was denied the official broadcasting rights to Tests and one-dayers, despite offering substantially more than the station that got the licence.

Cricket Fans Want More Awaiting The Launch of the Indian Cricket League Across The American Continent

Ft. Lauderdale / FL, USA – Over 15 million cricket fans residing in North America and the Caribbean are demanding more!  With cricket being the second most popular spectator sport world wide and more and more fans working and living throughout the world, International demand for cricket has never been higher.  Fans want more cricket, more of the time, or rather more accurately all of the time!  In order to meet the demand for cricket a number of cricket organizations throughout the world have expanded the traditional game of cricket from World Cups and Championships into a more easily consumable form of sports entertainment. 

In recent years, the Twenty20 format has taken the world of cricket by storm with the first ever Twenty20 World Cup won by the Indian team this year.  In an effort to fulfill the demands of fanatic cricket fans, the Indian Cricket League will be launching the first ever Twenty20 competitive Cricket League in the North American and Caribbean regions organized along the structure of other professional franchise sports.  According to the Indian Cricket League President Sharad Chikara, the demand for cricket is growing rapidly in North America due to both the large influx of students and workers from many of the cricket playing nations like India, Pakistan, Sri-Lanka, Bangladesh.  As well the International attention of cricket, especially the Twenty20 format, has also contributed to the rapidly growing demand in North America.

“Cricket fans worldwide now demand the Twenty20 format because it is more exciting, thrilling, and faster paced resulting in a more enjoyable entertainment experience. Our cricket fans on the IndianCricketLeague website forums have attested to the popular demand of the Twenty20 format without a doubt.”, Sharad Chikara said.  As an example, a fanatic cricket fan recently posted, “Twenty20 is the best thing that happened to cricket.  Twenty20 at least defies the logic that cricket can be less interesting due to length of the games. The other good thing about this game is that matches start after working hours and that is the reason we have a new audience in the game. I think this Twenty20 should be played more and more. These matches should be played on home and away basis just like Premier league football. Right now there is not enough Twenty20.”

According to initial information released on the website, bringing the Twenty20 format in a professional franchise sports league format to a broader and new audience is precisely what the Indian Cricket League intends to do.  “Our mission is to promote and foster the best talent, create a highly competitive environment and provide equal opportunity to talented players.  Indian Cricket League will provide superior entertainment, value, and service in competition with other professional spectator sports leagues.  We will provide a centralized governing body alongside the investor and franchise opportunity of professional league sports.  We believe this will allow us to deliver the ultimate cricket sporting experience for fans, players, coaches, and owners alike!”

The Indian Cricket League was founded in 2005 to provide cricket fans, players, coaches, and owners with a professional league sports platform.  Cricket had always lacked the structure that professional sports leagues in the US and Canada have.  The league will attract both local and international talent from other cricket playing nations just like Major League Baseball in the US.  We want to build quality international cricket players, provide for equal opportunity to the young and the talented, and ensure that the best infrastructure and training is provided to the players.  Indian Cricket League will share its pool of talented cricketers with other private cricket leagues and cricketing boards of the world.

Panchkula : Indian cricket has witnessed a disputed opinion on the Indian Cricket League (ICL) Twenty20 for quite some time now. There has been intense speculation on whether the ICL would turn into reality, with the BCCI opposing it and getting other cricket boards to oppose it too.But despite everything, ICL kicks off on Friday, November 30, at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium here.

If cricket is all about cheering for the underdog, there hasn’t been an underdog like the ICL. From overseas stars to domestic recruits, from stars of yesteryears to some of the biggest names in Indian cricket history, people have braved bans to be here.

The first match pits the local team — Chandigarh Lions — against Delhi Jets. The prize money in the 17-day tournament is a whopping Rs 15 crore, and the team that finishes last also takes home Rs 85 lakh. The man of the match gets Rs 3.75 lakh per match.

Apart from the Chandigarh Lions and Delhi Jets, the teams participating are Kolkata Tigers, Chennai Superstars, Mumbai Champs and Hyderabad Heroes.

India’s captain of the 1983 World Cup winning team Kapil Dev, presently the Chairman of the ICL Board says: “The ICL is in a stage where one feels like that Test-match player who has butterflies in the stomach. But we have tried our best to get here. There have been several obstacles on the way, but we fought our way.”

This means there will be a lot at stake for the likes of Kapil Dev and other former India players like Ajit Wadekar, Erapalli Prasanna, Madan Lal, Sandeep Patil, Ashok Malhotra, Balwinder Sandhu, Rajesh Chauhan, who are associated with and support the ICL in some form or the other.

The focus of attention will be the legendary West Indian player Brian Lara who has landed here after much speculation, along with Inzamam ul-Haq, Craig McMillan, Chris Chairns, Nathan Astle, Stuart Law, Marvan Atapattu and the likes.

All the players promise to make this a cricket carnival. The opening ceremony on Friday evening is expected to have performances by Bollywood biggies like Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan and Aamir Khan.

A big screen has been installed for a more colourful ambience and it is reason enough that hardly any of the 7000 tickets are available for the opening day’s ceremony and match.

Pitted along with the India-Pakistan Test series, the organisers feel people will definitely watch the matches on TV as the ICL matches start at 6 pm, much after the day’s play in the Test would have ended.

The next couple of weeks will tell if the ICL can bring a new start?