FORMER Australia paceman Jason Gillespie believes Test cricket is on its last legs and has labelled Indian cricket chief Lalit Modi a menace to the game.

“Test cricket is in trouble, there’s no doubt about that,” Gillespie said after returning from the rebel Indian Cricket League.

“I can see a time where countries will be bypassing Test cricket altogether.

“With more Twenty20 leagues, it will go the way where representing your country will take a back seat. For Australian and English players it will always be the pinnacle, but I’m not sure it’s the pinnacle for any other countries. All other countries don’t see Test cricket as the be all and end all anymore.”

Gillespie also slammed Cricket Australia, believing it doesn’t have the courage to stand up to Modi’s bullying, and won’t act to salvage the long-term future of the sport.

Banned from first-class cricket in Australia after signing a three-year deal with the non-ICC sanctioned Indian Cricket League, Gillespie believes Cricket Australia has deserted some of the nation’s finest players in favour of propping up its relationship with the self-serving Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

“Unfortunately they’ll side with (India’s) board rather than support players like ‘Kasper’ (Michael Kasprowicz) and myself, who’ve played for our country for many years,” Gillespie said.

“They’re far too worried about the ramifications of not being nice to the BCCI, that’s all they’re worried about and it’s a joke.

“They’ve basically said ‘no, we don’t want you’. Cricket Australia are only concerned about their relationship with the BBCI.”

Sports broadcaster ESPN Star Sports, the telecast rights holder for the Champions League’s inaugural Twenty20 club-cricket tournament, which was postponed in the aftermath of terror attacks in Mumbai, may have the option to treat the next ICC Champions League tournament in 2009 as the first event of the 10-year annual club-cricket championship.

Also, if the India tour to Pakistan scheduled for January 2009 does not take place, the Champions League may get re-scheduled, said industry sources.

“However, after January, it would be hard to slot Champions League and the next year’s tournament may get counted as the first of the 10-year deal,” a source said.

At least, Rs 280 crore of ad-revenue was expected from the first Champions League tournament for which ESPN Star Sports paid $975 million as the telecast rights fee for the next 10 years. It was expecting to recover more than half of Rs 430 crore (Rs 4,300 crore for 10 years) from the inaugural tournament from advertising revenue, ticket sales, among other options.

As per the decided schedule, the week-long tournament would have kicked off in Mumbai from today. But due to the terror attack on Mumbai last week, the tournament was postponed indefinetly.

“A meeting of the organising body may happen soon and as we understand, the Champions League has been postponed, and not cancelled. Of course, there are provisions that will safeguard us and that will be taken up by our Singapore office with the people concerned,” said R C Venkateish, MD, ESPN Software India, the company that operates ESPN, Star Sports and Star Cricket in India.

According to the estimates of senior media planners, amidst the slowdown in advertising spends, ESPN would still have managed to make between Rs 200 crore and Rs 280 crore from advertising alone. Now, even advertisers are watching the developments.

AN international telephone hook-up on Friday is set to decide whether WA retains its chance to compete for millions of dollars in the Twenty20 Champions League.

The Warriors and Victoria had qualified as Australia’s two representatives for the tournament, which was meant to be played in India now.

The winner will get about $5 million, with the majority of that to be split between the players.

The competition represents a golden opportunity for state cricketers to show their wares on a world stage, and possibly push for a lucrative Indian Premier League contract in the future.

But the Champions League was postponed for the second time after last month’s terrorist attacks in Mumbai, one of the host cities.

With its fate since shrouded in mystery, a telephone hook-up between the three members of the Champions League governing council will attempt to determine what will happen with the 2008/09 edition.

The tournament is controlled by the national cricket authorities in India, Australia and South Africa.
WA fears that if the tournament does not go ahead this season it will be stripped of its right to compete.

The WACA has even offered to host matches in a rescheduled tournament, possibly in March, as part of a bid to ensure it holds onto its spot.

Cricket Australia spokesman Phillip Pope said the conference call “will establish exactly what opportunities will exist for rescheduling the competition in the 2008/09 season”.

“The next stage is to sit down and explore every available option,” he said.

“Obviously international cricket has a very tight schedule over the next six to eight months. Naturally there is a desire for the postponed competition to occur in the 08/09 season.

“That will mean everybody has to look extremely closely at the calendar.”

The meeting of the Champions Twenty20 League governing council to finalise new dates for the postponed event has been advanced by a day and would now be held on December 7.

“The meeting of the founder members of the Champions 2020 League (cricket boards of India, Australia and South Africa) and its governing council will be held on December 7 instead of December 8,” said a spokesperson of the $6 million dollar event.

The meeting will be headed by the League’s chairman and BCCI Vice President Lalit Modi.

The tournament, originally slated from December 3-10, was put off indefinitely following the deadly terror strikes in Mumbai that have claimed 195 lives and left over 300 persons injured.

The winners and runners-up of the Indian Premier League -Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings, Australia’s Western Australia and Victoria, South Africa’s Dolphins and Titans and the domestic T20 champions of England (Middlesex) and Pakistan (Sialkot) were set to take part in the event when it was postponed.