Two cricket leagues commenced this past week in circumstances that couldn't have been more contrasting.
Perhaps, the only common feature was the clear blue skies overhead, which will therefore surprise some that one of these tournaments was in England. However, despite the beautiful spring sunshine, the daffodils clearly outnumbered the spectators, which consisted primarily of retirees, schoolchildren and a handful of ardent followers.
Typically for such an early April start to the LV County Championship the bowlers came to the fore, resulting in only one of the three teams batting first exceeding 300. However, it was not the seamers but the spinners that benefitted from the dry wickets prepared due to the lack of rain in recent months.
England hopeful Adil Rashid took six wickets for Yorkshire against relegation favourites Worcestershire, while debutant Danny Briggs secured a five-for against Durham. Despite the left-armer finding some success, it was Durham who secured the largest opening total, finishing on 476 thanks to a diligent innings from stalwart Dale Benkenstein who defended the good balls and punished the loose ones.
The low attendance figures will help explain the poor financial state faced by many counties with three of the leading contenders (Durham, Lancashire and Yorkshire) unable to afford an overseas player this year.
Lancashire are having to play their matches in Liverpool while their Old Trafford home undergoes renovation, despite making losses of about £2 million (BD1.24 million) last season. Tradition is not paying the bills.
As reigning champions, Notts will hope to do well, although the loss of Ryan Sidebottom to his native Yorkshire will hamper their efforts.
Somerset, who lost on the final day by the narrowest of margins, will hope to go one better having added depth to their bowling attack with the acquisition of Steve Kirby and Gemall Hussain from Gloucestershire, along with the young Irish left-arm spinner, George Dockrell who impressed during the recent ICC World Cup.
Yet, while it was the English that gave the world cricket, including the latest version, T20, it is the Indian teams offering the money, glamour and glitz. Indeed, the season-opener had Bollywood stars crooning to thousands of fans with millions more watching on television around the world.
The difference between the two could not be captured more by the visiting English players, who have forsaken their traditional teams back home in favour of the huge sums they can make in just a few weeks - and players like Eoin Morgan don't come close to being the highest earners.
The undoubted stars (paid accordingly), at least as far as the local capacity crowds are concerned, are the victorious members of the Indian national team. As each team must field a minimum of seven 'home-grown' players in each match, they will be afforded little rest before May 28.
With the addition of two new franchises, the IPL 2011 will squeeze an incredible 74 matches into the next seven weeks, although most will be played before capacity crowds. Is there not a danger, of cricket burn-out, both for players and spectators? Not in India!
The two new franchises have invested heavily in overseas talent while balancing the need for a strong local presence. Kochi Tuskers Kerala's acquisition of Muralitharan and Jayawardene to support Laxman and Sreesanth look, on paper, to be weaker than Pune Warriors whose line-up of Smith, Ryder and Parnell to back up Yuvraj, Uthappa and Kartik will provide some fireworks.
However, the stronger teams still appear to be last season's finalists, the Chennai Super Kings and the Mumbai Indians. However, with such a star-studded line-up (including Dhoni and Tendulkar) expected to perform immediately after a long ICC World Cup campaign, it remains to be seen whether this selection policy will bear fruit. Exponents of the 50-over format are rarely as effective in the T20 game, where a single performance can change a match.
However, while the IPL undoubtedly offers plenty of excitement for spectators and bookmakers alike, those arguing for the abandonment of the English County Championship in favour of more T20 are misguided.
It's like comparing beach soccer with the professional leagues of Spain and England.
