A Convincing Canute

Meanwhile, back here in England, Giles Clarke does a convincing impersonation of King Canute as he tries to hold back the inevitable. The bottom line - and Clarke, as a successful businessman, must know this - is that money talks. And the IPL sums are so great that they won't just talk. They'll shout very loudly.

He's right to flag up the 2009 Ashes and his point about the way in which player burnout suddenly seems to have been forgotten about is well made, but if Freddie and KP decide they want to cash their chips in with the IPL before next summer there may not be a lot he can do about it.

The idea of 'freelance' internationals is an interesting one, and it would be equally interesting to see if the England selectors were prepared to be as hardline as Clarke is, and, if they were, what the public will think. My feeling is that English supporters will want to see what they perceive to be their country's strongest possible side playing against Australia next summer and they won't feel that the fact that someone's 'prepared' for an Ashes series by playing twenty over cricket for piles of cash in India should necessarily prevent him doing so.

However, as the old cliche goes, this one will run and run and run...