IPL in England?

[highthief]

I'm not big into cricket but I heard due to security concerns they may move the Indian Premier League to England - in April and May!

Have any of these geniuses ever been to England in April? Last I checked it rained a lot and those crowds of 50,000 people who watch in India in the sunshine will be more like 500 miserable old buggers sitting in the rain!

[spindles]

It seems like South Africa is more likely:

In a swift turnaround, South Africa has overtaken England as the preferred venue to host the IPL next month. Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman, was flying to South Africa on Monday night to meet with senior officials of the South African government and an announcement is expected on Wednesday.

Weather turned out to be the principal factor that swayed the BCCI officials, a bulk of whom had been in favour of England until Monday morning when the realisation occurred that rain could seriously affect "as many as 70% of the matches" in the Twenty20 tournament, which runs from April 10 to May 24.

Cricinfo - South Africa emerges IPL frontrunner

They must have been listening to you

[dlish]

the UAE was a contender to host some IPL games, but i heard that they are out of the running. not sure why..shame

[highthief]

Either SA or the UAE would be better bets than soggy England at that time of year!

If it is SA, it'll be a mini-tune up for the World Cup in 2010.

[healer]

Guess who lives literally a stone's throw from St. George's Park?

I read the story in a local paper yesterday. I'm pretty excited about it, especially as it's coming up so soon. Interested to see what ticket prices will be.

Originally Posted by highthief

If it is SA, it'll be a mini-tune up for the World Cup in 2010.

We've got the Confederations Cup coming up later this year as well, so I'm hoping this will provide the organisers of all these events with more 'readiness practice'.

[Vaultboy]

Originally Posted by healer

We've got the Confederations Cup coming up later this year as well, so I'm hoping this will provide the organisers of all these events with more 'readiness practice'.

We're also hosting some other ICC tournament. Pro 20?

Anyways, IPL confirmed to be in SA on the news tonight. Lalit didn't even bother to go to England.

I just wonder how well it'll be attended, given that the balance of the teams are made up of Indian players.

[healer]

Confirmed dates and venues. I'm pretty psyched. Schedule

Originally Posted by Vaultboy

We're also hosting some other ICC tournament. Pro 20?

I heard about that - it's supposed to be like a mini World Cup. Don't know if it's going to be in a Pro 20 format or not.

[dlish]

Originally Posted by highthief

Either SA or the UAE would be better bets than soggy England at that time of year!

If it is SA, it'll be a mini-tune up for the World Cup in 2010.

any time between may -september is wayyyyy to hot here. that probably why they decided to go somewhere with a little less heat. you can play cricket in the cold, but its damn near impossible to play in 45 degrees celcius (in the shade) weather.

crying shame its not here. we have a huge indian, pakistani, australian, south african and english communities here. would have been great.

[Strange Famous]

The weather was what ruled out the UK in the end, the main reason they wanted it here was the fanbase (a lot of people of Indian, Bangledeshi and Pakistani origin are here)

Personally I couldnt care less. 20/20 isnt cricket, its a circus with all the players wearing pygama's.