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New Wave

The Indian Premier League represents a new chapter for cricket . . . what will it hold?

Although the international and domestic seasons have ended in Australia, don’t think there won’t be plenty happening in the coming months. With the Indian Premier League starting in just over a month, we are facing the prospect of another cricket revolution similar to what we saw with World Series Cricket. The combination of a popular, abbreviated form of the game in Twenty20 and huge sums of money to create a tournament involving some of the world’s best players is reminiscent of what happened with Kerry Packer’s invention 31 years ago.

And although the IPL will only be played in India, we will be closely involved in it here in Australia through the live television broadcasts and the fact that some well-known Australian players will be in the thick of the action. Intriguingly, many of them will be playing against each other, which is one of the most interesting side stories of the tournament. How will Glenn McGrath perform after his international retirement a year ago? How will Warne attempt to outfox his old mates Gilly and co? How will they celebrate wickets? Or wins, playing for teams owned by big investors and conglomerates?

In our final issue for season 2007-08, we present a comprehensive seven-page guide to the IPL, including a background, line-ups, and television guide. And in line with this new and interesting development in our game, you’ll notice it is up the front of the magazine, which means some of our regulars are having a game off. In any case, I trust this provides you with some useful information about the event that you can reference throughout the tournament’s one-and-a-half month duration. Our previews don’t end there, with exclusive interviews looking ahead to the West Indies and Pakistan tours. At the time of going to press, the Pakistan tour was still steeped in controversy, and as the West Indies tour clashes with the IPL, only time will tell how it affects that tournament. Of course, this sensational summer couldn’t go by without a post mortem; so we take a Test-by-Test look at the season that was, and also talk exclusively with fast bowlers Brett Lee and Ishant Sharma.

And this edition would not be complete without a salute to the retiring Adam Gilchrist. As well as our giant posters, there are 14 pages of tribute stories, from interviews with those who played with him to analyses by those who watched him closely for years, such as Richie Benaud and Ian Healy. Enjoy the read while we have a break and prepare for 2008-09, when we’ll be back, new ball in hand, fired up for a new season . . . Cheers!

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