Sehwag shows England the merits of the IPL playground

Virender Sehwag's swashbuckling innings in New Zealand was as much an indictment of English stroke-making conservatism as it was a celebration of the Indian tradition of providing talismanic batsman. As Sehwag was hitting a one-day century off 60 balls, including 92 from boundaries alone in his final total of 125, England were cursing their inability to make quick runs at pivotal moments in Test matches as the series in the Caribbean meandered to a predictable, anti-climatic ending.

As Andrew Strauss now has to galvanize his troops for a return home series against their latest conquerors, the intermitting period sees the first IPL fixtures to include Test playing Englishmen. Whilst players like Kevin Pietersen and Freddie Flintoff need no advice on explosive hitting, surely the more English players, especially batsmen, that get to open their shoudlers in the sub-Continental bonanza the better. England are limited to 7 participants this April due to how the auction went, considering how many English players may have been signed up had the ECB not limited their countrymen to a mere 3 week involvement is a curious yet futile consideration.

With Freddie's body looking increasingly like it might prematurely end his days as a genuine all rounder at Test level, only Matty Prior is left as a viable candidate to take up the reins when an English innings needs whipping through the gears. Most concerning however is the fact that of the 5 other English players signed up for the IPL, Collingwood, Bopara, Shah, Napier and Mascherenhas, 2 are nowhere near the Test side, whilst the other three (Colly, Shah and Bopara) actually have the propensity to swing the willow when the situation dictates.

All the while the hierarchy of the ECB sulk because the dollars found their way to India rather than Lords, and take out this tantrum through hindering English players ability to secure their futures and imporve their aggresive strokes, the Test side will stay flacid in fourth, when situations dictate a swift shift to sixth. The IPL is going to grow exponentially both in terms of respect within the game and the revenue sourced from outside it, and the longer the bulk of English players and officials are on the outside looking in at the party, the more chance there is that their tea will turn cold.