the £51 million blackmail series

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the £51 million blackmail series

I had been trying to understand why an oil baron was prepared to pay £51 million for a four way series. Why was he prepared to pay so much more than even teh IPL?

Then teh Times has this today:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/cricket/article3927271.ece

Covering the bats in black is teh thin end of teh wedge in moving to plastic bats. Plastic bats would be alot cheaper than hand-crafted wood.
He claims it is for branding purposesbut here are other ways to brand your bats. Other companies have managed fine for years.
Cant the man compromise and just have a black sticker like everyone else?
I dont think it was a true offer. He has just manipulated headlines, got himself soem good press and made the MCC look like whinging old duffers when in fact they are maintaining the truth of the game.
 
Re: the £51 million blackmail

Politics as always. To be honest, I'm surprised that the ECB have gotten this far with things, surely, the Stanford tournament is no different to the ICL?
 
Re: the £51 million blackmail

heads he wins, tails the MCC and ECB lose.

If he wins he can make bats cheaper out of plastic, if he loses he got more good PR making himself out be a saviour to invest in Twenty20 for the MCC and the MCC look like old duffers.
I change my original propsal from blackmail to one of sharking as I dont think it was a truthful offer. I think it was a false offer purely to get PR.
 
Re: the £51 million blackmail series

Something certainly seems fishy. Why would they insist on having those ugly black bats? I don't think the MCC is going to change the law to allow this tournament to go on. But it could still go ahead as an unofficial tournament, similar to the ICL.
 
Re: the £51 million blackmail series

thats a good point AB but where is the incentive for the players?
Now does to ECB hunt around looking for sponsors for what always was a bit of a wildcard idea or do they admit they cant compete with the IPL and ICL? They badly need a third option.

Ideas: How about a 4way test series?

Possibly the best option is to lay low and let the whole mess blow over like it never happened.
The best idea I could come up with is to criticise Stanford for the behaviour, show him up for the shark he is. Make him into a pariah that demonstrates all that is bad with the politics of cricket and this mad rush for money that is happening right now.
Currently money=prestige in the press.
When did that happen in cricket? Ok maybe about 10 years ao and I am just a bit slow. Do we want cricket to end up like Premiership football. that is the question?
 
Re: the £51 million blackmail series

I always thought there was a hidden agenda somewhere. He would be crazy to spend $100 million for just 4 matches.
 
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