South Africa - Venue For the Indian Premier League Cricket (IPL) Tournament

First played at county level in England during 2003, Twenty20 is the latest version of the ancient English game of cricket. An innings consists of 20 overs and bowlers can only bowl a maximum of four overs each. The action packed game lasts three hours and is shorter than a baseball game.

Fears for the safety of players in India has presented cricket fans in South Africa with a golden opportunity. The second series of the Indian Premier League Cricket tournament will be played in SA from 18 April - 23 May 2009 and the economy could be improved by a much needed R 100 million, according to economists. An estimated 400 players and Indian officials visiting SA for five weeks will inject about R 12 million into hotel turnover, and that's not counting the numerous fans who will travel from India to support their teams. Around 30 000 hotel rooms will be occupied during the 59 matches while domestic flight between the host cities will probably be overbooked. South Africa will be one of the few countries where tourism is not in the doldrums in 2009.

Together with the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup which kicks off in SA in mid-June this year, the IPL Cricket constitutes a fantastic dress rehearsal for the FIFA 2010 World Cup. It gives South Africans an opportunity to test the accommodation arrangements, airports, public transport as well as the often criticized safety and security aspects of hosting such large sports events. But IPL's Lalit Modi said that the Indians had complete confidence in the security situation in SA. England was considered as a possible venue but its unpredictable weather made South Africa the obvious choice. The SA public loves cricket and SA hosted the first Pro20 World Cup successfully, which counted in South Africa's favor.

The matches in SA will be spread over six venues countrywide with the opening match scheduled for Newlands in Cape Town. Ticket prices will be extremely affordable with the most expensive tickets costing around R 220.

All said this tournament promises to be a cricket bonanza for local and international fans alike.

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Brutality in the English Game - Why England May Never Win a Major Tournament

Once again, the darkside of English football was exposed over the weekend when one of the brightest prospect of the game, Aaron Ramsay suffered a career threatening injury when Arsenal met Stoke City in a Premier league game. Aaron broke his leg due to a reckless, over-zealous and brutal tackle by Stoke City's defender Ryan Shawcross. The tackle may have been accidental, unintentional or whatever name one may choose to call it, but what I witnessed exposes a wider problem in English football which I believe could prevent them from winning any major international honours.

In 5 years, Arsenal have seen 3 similar injuries happen to team members. I don't believe these are just coincidental. I believe it sterms from a culture that have been encouraged by Managers, the media and pundicts which tries to enforce the belief that the only way to stop Arsenal from playing their fast, free flowing football is to be physical and aggressive in your approach and "get in their faces", which is the term often used to describe this approach.

While this approach may have a place within the context of the modern game of football as a contact sport, I'm convinced that it has, for the greater part, encouraged an overly physical approach which has resulted in these horrific injuries. The overwhelming priorities of most clubs facing Arsenal is not to concentrate on playing football to win the game, but to stop Arsenal from playing their brand of football. If these teams approach every game with the same physical intensity as they do games with Arsenal, I think their league positions will dramatically improve.

The wider implication for the national game is that, young footballers coming through are thought to prioritise the physicality of the game above the development of technique and skill. Is it any wonder why the English national team is plagued by one major weakness; and that is ball retention. At International level, a teams ability to keep possession of the ball for longer periods of a football match is key to winning tournaments. If you are in doubt, just take a look at the Spainish or Brazilian national teams and you will understand why they've won major trophies and are currently ranked the top sides in the world.

The English Premier league prides itself in the fact that, it is the richest and the best league in the world. It may be the best league because of the foreign players who bring technique and skill to the otherwise boring, over-physical and long-ball style that football fans would have been stuck to.

If England want to see a real potential in their sides winning major trophies, then they must say goodbye to the over-emphasis on the physical nature of the game and concentrate on developing footballers with true skill and technique. They must stop excusing horrific tackles like the one we saw over the weekend and start campaigning for a cleaner game that frowns upon the likes of the Ryan Showcross tackle. In my opinion, Until this culture of physicality is eradicated from the English culture, winning the world cup will be a very, very long short.

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