Melbourne, August 17: Shane Warne once again advocated a permanent window for the cash-rich Indian Premier League Twenty20 event, to keep the players happy and prevent scheduling problems.
“I wonder if people realise how big the Indian Premier League really is. I’ve read that it is already the fourth biggest sporting event in the world in terms of value, estimated at around USD one billion. The sooner the authorities realise it is here to stay, the better,” Warne wrote in a column for ‘The Daily Telegraph’.
“I think that a gap of a month or six weeks fixed in the calendar would ease all potential problems and keep the players happy. The IPL is great for promoting cricket to a new audience. It isn’t a threat. It’s a brand to sell to the world,” he added.
Warne said the ICC should also come out with its World Test Championship soon to make the five-day version more appealing to the spectators.
“The ICC can sort out the nitty-gritty, but I’d be looking for two divisions, one side going up and down every two years.
“Those in the second division would just have to raise their game to get back among the best, but there is enough TV money in the game to make sure they don’t struggle financially, and stay viable,” he said.
Warne also lambasted the current lot of international umpires, saying that barring Simon Taufel and Asad Rauf, the standard of on-field officials has hit a 20-year low.
“The standard of umpiring is as low as I’ve known it in 20 years. Yes, it is a difficult job and technology exposes many mistakes, but some of the performances in the Ashes series so far have been pretty ordinary,” Warne said.
“Of the current panel, (Pakistan’s) Asad Rauf is pretty good and (Australia’s) Simon Taufel isn’t bad. Rudi Koertzen has been a good umpire, but unfortunately his time has passed. Billy Bowden is inconsistent. I think Billy can be very good, but sometimes he gets a bit carried away,” he said.
Warne said a bad decision once in a while doesn’t hurt many but mistakes are happening way too often now.
“Players will accept that the odd bad decision gets through now and again. At the moment, there are just too many.”
The flamboyant tweaker said umpires like Daryl Harper and Bowden are very rigid and don’t like admitting their mistakes.
“Their attitude is crucial. Talking to players and having a friendly nature is imperative, not the ‘I’m the boss’ schoolteacher approach of Daryl Harper, who is unpopular with players, and the attitude that they never make an error. Billy is another who cannot admit to a mistake,” Warne said.
Warne also reiterated that one-day cricket should be scrapped.
“Cricket evolves, and the 50-over game has passed its sell-by date. It’s amazing to think that after the Ashes series England and Australia play seven one-day games, which will take about a month. Sorry, but that’s just greed on the part of administrators,” he said.
“From now on, we should be playing Tests and Twenty20 internationals, with a Twenty20 World Cup every two years. TV still gets seven hours of cricket every weekend, but it’s Twenty20,” he added.
Warne said ending one-day cricket would give players a chance to spend more time with their families and prevent burn-outs.
“By also eliminating one-day cricket the players would be freed up to spend more time at domestic level, grass roots cricket and time at home with families,” he said.
—–PTI