Something very strange happened in our house during the weekend.

I still feel kinda funny about it. Seriously – it has left me very unsettled.

It started off as a normal Sunday night.

Alex and I sat down after dinner and turned on the television.

Nothing weird there.

But then it happened.

A story about cricket flashed up and Alex grabbed the remote and changed the channel in disgust.

Yes, that’s right. My cricket-tragic husband Changed. The. Channel.

Turns out he is very against the Indian Premier League, which is surprising for lots of reasons, least of all because it would mean he would get in the occasional game outside the normal summer season.

But no, the man who once didn’t move off the couch for any more time than it took to go to the bathroom and grab another beer during a Boxing Day Test has decided to switch off out of principal.

From the ramblings I could make sense of, he thinks his boys have sold out.

He can’t believe the very men he has been defending (mainly to me when I start sniggering at the idea they get fatigued when to me they seem to be standing around for most the day. Yes I know, I know, they are serious athletes) for their hectic schedules have decided to spend their down time playing for money.

It seems to be a common thread in the sporting world.

They are there for a good time, not a long time, so it pays to get all the dollars they can in the relatively short time their bodies can stand up to the pressure.

But I also understand where the fans are coming from when they see their favourite players choose the dollar over the game.

It’s not the Warnies Alex cares about – because they are retired.

It’s the guys like Roy who are still such an intrinsic part of the Aussie team risking their fitness for a pay cheque.

And so he has switched off.

To be honest, I haven’t paid much attention to the whole IPL furore.

But when grassroots fans like Alex start turning off, surely that has to raise some alarm bells.

And what glory can there be for the players? Round robin twenty twenty games?

From my little perch, there doesn’t seem to be any honour to it.

I can’t deny that the money wouldn’t be tempting – but how much of it do you need?

Surely personal satisfaction has to be weighed heavier than a bank balance?

From the little bit I saw before the channel was abruptly changed the team owners want big hits and big catches with the hopes it will lead to big crowds and even bigger dollars.

In that case, someone should have told them to head down to a park on Australia Day – where they are bound to find outrageous acts of sporting glory.

But instead our big names have decided to risk themselves. Now I guess, we wait and see how that works out for them.