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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Barney Ronay

English cricket’s hunger for Indian money has led it into a moral and legal minefield

Hundred teams celebrate winning trophy
The England and Wales Cricket Board has denied the existence of a shadow ban against Pakistan players in the Hundred. Photograph: Tom Dulat/ECB/Getty Images

The thing about inviting a tiger round for tea is, for all the excitement, the fur, the teeth, the muscles, they do tend to walk off with your dinner and drink all the water in the taps. The thing about saying yes to the person with the biggest stick is, in the end, you don’t get to say yes, or no, or anything at all. And that person still has a very big stick.

The thing about closing your eyes and just taking the money is: money passes only in exchange for something of value, and full payment will be taken. Welcome to English cricket in full blind, groping crisis mode, and the first small tremor of what lies in store whatever happens in the next few weeks.

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