LEFT ARM OVER
NEIL MANTHORP: Painful scramble to organise T20 tournament as SA plays catch-up with big guns
SA and England have been left behind in the lucrative T20 market and both national cricket boards are desperate to catch up
It is hard to remember or even imagine how cricket stayed financially alive in some parts of the world without the cash generated by the T20 game. Domestic cricket in the Caribbean existed on a hand-to-mouth basis for half-a-century and still does at first-class level, with many players still arriving on the morning of the match with more hope than expectation of a brown envelope that will have their match fee in it. The Caribbean Premier League has changed all of that, and how. It only lasts one month of the year, yet already makes its presence felt for 12 months in the region despite only starting five years ago. In Bangladesh, the T20 league generates tens of millions of dollars and the New Zealand version has made the administration of the national team and domestic game a whole lot more comfortable.The Indian Premier League is and always will be the Big Daddy of them all, but after five years of systematically building its brand and fan base, Australia’s Big Bash is set to turn...
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