Like Premier League football the IPL now has a long tail of brouhaha and scandal, all packed into six weeks, but the fifth edition saw a maturing tournament, with close games and a high-class thrilling final. Nick Sadleir reports.
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Bags of cash and Bollywood bling, but no one really cares about the cricket or teams, do they? Nick Sadleir, already an IPL veteran, travelled to Mumbai, Delhi, Jaipur and Mohali and says he can see the emergence of real fan loyalty – as well as some interesting new tactics in IPL5.
Anyone who loves cricket feels nothing but sadness at the state of play in the West Indies – and it’s getting worse. The Test team touring England are not just a shadow of their former selves, they’re a shadow of the present, with half a team at the IPL. Given England’s travails against spin it is a great shame that Sunil Narine, the mystery off-spinner, will not be arriving until the one-dayers. England’s batsmen may be relieved, but it makes a mockery of the series. Nick Sadleir, who was at the Barbados Test against Australia, before heading to the IPL himself, casts an eye over the strengths and weaknesses of what is left and suggests that England will face some tough individual examinations but collectively should roll them over as Australia did.
West Indies have been papering over Caribbean cracks for the last two decades, but the personal clashes of Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo with the West Indies Board are obscuring the external threat.
Nick Sadleir 