It appears that the ECB have manipulated the schedule of next year's tour of the West Indies so that their players can feature in the 2009 Indian Premier League. It represents an opportunity to earn money that cricketers had never previously had - unless you happened to be a curly-haired Indian batsman with the opportunity to lend your face to the advertising campaigns of Italian car manufacturers. The key word here, however, is opportunity; it implies a degree of uncertainty about the situation. Having the opportunity to apply for a job doesn't necessarily mean that the position is yours; having the opportunity to score the winning penalty in a Champions League final doesn't necessarily mean that you won't slip and miss the target. Alastair Cook will have the opportunity to play in the biggest tournament of cricket's newest and shortest format, and in doing so earn himself a seven-figure sum. (Technically it should be the other way round - playing in the IPL is a secondary boon of being paid the astronomical sum.) However, who - besides his family, friends and himself- is going to want him to do so? Certainly not those who bankroll the player auctions. Aggression, rapid scoring, the ability to improvise and the confidence to hit spinners out of their comfort zone paint a picture of a batsman who is, in fact, the antithesis of Alastair Cook. "80 to win off the last 7 overs? Quck, send in Cookie!" is a sentiment that will never be communicated anywhere but in this sentence - and in this case it is only for the purposes of ridicule.
It is cruel to single out a particular batsman, especially when they are as talented as the Essex and England opener (he made six Test hundreds before his 23rd birthday), but he is the best example of a pattern throughout English cricketers; typically, they are not exciting players. For the last five Tests, England have fielded a lineup in which only two players had a career batting strike rate of more than 50 - that is, nine of the England lineup score their runs at less than three an over. So who will the IPL franchises actually want in their squads? It goes without saying that Kevin Pietersen could be a major star of the tournament; when at his peak of fluent aggression and brutal power, he is matched only by Jayasuriya, Sehwag, Symonds and McCullum. He usually takes the chance to be the star man when it is available - recall his return to South Africa for his first major series with England, in which he struck three centuries in four matches, including the fastest ever by an England player in a one-day international, as well as his infamous Ashes-sealing 158 at The Oval. The man of that series, Andrew Flintoff, is a notable absentee from this slow-scoring England side, and he too could become the IPL's main attraction. All-rounders who hit big are gold in Twenty20 cricket - and no bowler who is as fast or as hostile and accurate as Flintoff can hit as big and as consistently. If Shane Watson, a poor man's Freddy, has been a star of the inaugural IPL, Flintoff has the potential to lay all before him to waste. He might even stay injury-free for the whole tournament, as Twenty20 favour spells of four overs per innings, rather than fifty-one, but even if a piece of his ankle falls off onto the crease as he bowls, he will get into any IPL side as a batsman once he has rediscovered his form. Ryan Sidebottom is another certain for the 2009 tournament- he is accurate, swings the ball and takes wickets; his career Twenty20 economy rate of 6.58 is also good, relatively speaking. Marcus Trescothick, if willing to play, could also be a real star, pummelling fast bowlers through the covers and over midwicket, and slog-sweeping the spinners into the stand. There is no answer to Trescothick at his best; you can only wait for him to get himself out.
Others could become good signings, if not the lynchpins that above can and should be. Paul Collingwood is a surprisingly unconventional batsman, often scoring in unusual areas, and has success in limited overs cricket against the very best - twin hundreds against the Australians on their own turf don't come around very often. He loves coming down the pitch to the spinners and hit seven sixes into the same stand in a one-day international in Napier in February. His constantly improving medium-pacers could also be useful, and he is undoubtedly one of the world's best fielders. James Anderson is a wicket-taking bowler, although he might also be smeared all around the park if having a bad day. The fans will at least get their money's worth with him - and isn't that what the IPL is about? Dimi Mascheranas did have a contract this year, but only played a single game, in which he scored 9 off 8 balls and took 2-29 having opened the bowling. He has the potential to do much better - he has bowled an astounding total of 4 maidens in his Twenty20 career, and everyone knows about his assault on Yuvraj last summer. Ravi Bopara was apparently offered big money first time round, although it is unclear why. His international record is not astounding, and our best knowledge of his ability under pressure is his last-ball dismissal with 3 runs needed against Sri Lanka in the world cup. He did guide a collapsing England to victory against India last summer, but the runs were not needed at any great rate. His medium-pacers could be handy - his first international wicket was Michael Hussey - but they could also be repeatedly savaged into the stand. Stuart Broad could be a good bargain buy for anyone looking for a spare overseas player; his consistent line and the extra bounce often brought by his height make him difficult to hammer around the park. He is also a superb death bowler who keeps his head in tough situations, perhaps best evidenced by his restriction of Yuvraj at the Twenty20 world cup last September. Oh, wait. No, that's not right is it? Never mind - all the fashionable young bowlers these days are being hit for six sixes in an over. Just ask, um, Dan van Bunge of Holland. At least Broad can more than hold a bat - there is talk of him developing into a genuine all-rounder - he even had a go at hitting the 29 runs England required off the last over of a 50-over game last year, hitting four boundaries but only totalling 20.
