News : Indian Premier League

After the PR nightmare of Stanford week, the England and Wales Cricket Board have little time to regroup before their chief executive, David Collier, heads to India for a crucial meeting with Indian Premier League commissioner Lalit Modi next week.

There are “eight or nine” issues to be discussed at the summit with Modi and other executives from the Board of Cricket Control for India, says Collier. The main issue is the timing of the IPL itself, which clashes with the two-Test series at the start of the English summer.

If Collier could persuade Modi to move the IPL forward 10 days from its planned start date of April 10, he could make the England players available for three weeks, and perhaps persuade the Indians to release their squad for the planned English Premier League in return, but it seems to be very difficult to obtain concessions from Modi, who remains unhappy that several players employed by the rebel Indian Cricket League have appeared in the English county game.

“We are working closely and co-operatively with the BCCI,” Collier told last week, “but undoubtedly we have differences. They have had the issue of unauthorized cricket on their back door, but we have to deal with European law, and that has shaped a significant amount of our policy.

“Now we have to protect our series in May,” Collier said. “The IPL came on board quickly, perhaps a matter of three months, with the Future Tours Programme in place. Ideally, the IPL needs to be played in April, which is outside the main English season. Bringing it forward a couple of weeks in future years will help.”

Collier has also defended the Stanford Super Series. “We would have had huge regrets if we had turned it down,” he said. “Here is an opportunity to protect and bolster Test cricket at a time when we are going through a global recession and when we have heard government funding has been hit.”

But that has not prevented an anti-Stanford backlash. Colin Graves, the Yorkshire chairman, said: “The whole idea needs revamping.

“It is wrong that players should stand to earn so much money: it’s out of all proportion, and it could split dressing rooms.”

“We knew Clarke was always going to be a rocky ride, but he was the right man and he has done a good job. We couldn’t go round kowtowing to the Indians all year. I can only think of four people who would vote against him if the chairmanship election was held today.”