Everyone would agree the IPL has changed cricket. For better or for worse, remains a topic to be discussed. Surely, it is fast-paced and more suited to the younger generation and can help in increasing cricket's popularity. However, the people who take interest in IPL are not cricket fans and they will never be.

I'm not totally against IPL. It's not like I think it should be banned or would start a protest against it. It can't be banned of course. People wait for the IPL more than any other cricket tournament or series. If they enjoy it, who am I to complain?

But, I don't think it's a good thing to happen to cricket. It's a lot of things but it just isn't cricket. It has taken the focus of the players and the fans away from country matches, which is pathetic. It's not like Big Bash or the Twenty20 championship in county.

Both of them are domestic tournaments while IPL attracts more attention and disrupts the International calendar. The parties and high pay interest some players more than playing for their countries. You might say there is nothing wrong with it. If the players and fans prefer IPL, what's the harm?

But I say there is. Humans don't always know what's best for them. Like, people prefer reading novels over course books but that doesn't mean novels are better for them. I don't think the IPL is good for the world. And most importantly, it just isn't cricket.

Being an England cricket fan, I used to enjoy England's Test matches the most. Now, I have lost interest in cricket as the interest in International cricket has decreased. Also because the players themselves aren't as interested in it as they used to be. Playing for your country just doesn't mean as much as it used to. Since, cricket is going around all year, fans have lost interest as well.

Although it doesn’t receive the same level of media coverage as the exploits of the England national cricket team in international test matches (at least outside of England), County cricket is a very big deal to fans of the sport. This is the cricket equivalent of Premier League football, and is what most fans of the sport watch – and put bets on – throughout the majority of the year. Things are gearing up for the new season now, with the fixture schedule having been released, and the bookies odds are also now available for those interested in betting on the winner.

Last season’s champions Durham are unsurprisingly listed amongst the favourites again for the 2014 title – but they are not the hot favourites ahead of the season. At the moment Warwickshire, at 5/1, have that status with bookmakers. They will have England batsman Jonathan Trott back in the fold, following his recent illness, and certainly have an impressive record in this competition. 2013 was a somewhat disappointing season for them, as they finished fourth in the Division One table, but with seven previous titles it is likely that they or Durham will attract a lot of the gambling – at least amongst those who don’t decide to play The Umpire Strikes Back instead.

The notion of cricket fans choosing to go to a site like GamingClub.com/au to play a slots game instead of the winners of the County Championship would have seemed ridiculous a few years ago, but games like this one are huge these days. This particular slot, complete with cartoon umpire and Star Wars pun, is a lot of fun for any cricket fan. It is also very cheap to game on, as you can bet with a deposit as small as $0.10 a time. This entitles you to play for a jackpot of $10,000, as well as the chance to play the various cricket themed game bonuses, all of which makes it at least as attractive as betting on county cricket – and less likely to be interrupted by rain!

Thanks for reading.