Twenty20 needs you to look beyond the bright and shiny
Columnist By Brett McKay, 20 Dec 2011 Brett McKay is a Roar Expert
- Tagged:
- Australian Cricket, BBL, Cricket, David Warner
Brisbane Heat's Brendon McCullum (left) bleeds as Steven Smith (centre) and Brett Lee (right) look on during their Big Bash League match against the Sydney Sixers at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, Friday, Dec. 16, 2011. (AAP Image/Mick Tsikas)
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Attention, Twenty20 cricket detractors out there in Roarland and on the interwebs: it is possible to watch Twenty20 cricket without selling your soul.
When Twenty20 first surfaced as a new format of cricket, I was, like many people, very sceptical of its chances of longevity.
I figured that like shoulderless bats, it would be interesting for a summer or two before fading off into a quiet cricket obscurity reserved for such relics as the Day-Glo orange ball and the Greg Matthews helmet.
But it didn’t fade. It grew.
Then the Indians got hold of it. And it bloody exploded! Bright lights, shiny pads, cheerleaders, ridiculous meat-auction salaries and TV deals, and full houses everywhere it went.
The city-based Big Bash League has now taken over where state sides once trod in Australia, and it will be Cricket Australia’s domestic cash cow. Names are weird; colours are bright. Broadcast numbers are rather big. And the crowds aren’t too shabby, for what is still, essentially, just domestic cricket.
Like it or lump it, Twenty20 was, and still is, here to stay. And I’ve learned to live with it. Moreover, I’ve found a way to watch and enjoy it. And this is where I think I can help the non-believers.
For me, the result really doesn’t matter. With no emotional ties to any of the BBL teams, this is obviously easier to take out of the equation. But when you do take the result of the equation, you’re left with just another game of cricket.
But I go further than that even. I take the tactics and field settings and run-rates and strike rates out too, and just narrow it right down to the smallest, purest contest within the game: bat versus ball.
By doing this, it means that I’m just watching every delivery, every shot on its merits. I get to enjoy the skills of the individual. It makes it much easier to appreciate the perfectly placed yorker, or the superbly timed straight drive, or the exceptional piece of fielding to save runs, or the crucial catch.
More importantly, for the cricket accountants and network ratings-counters, watching the individuals makes Twenty20, for me, watchable.
It makes Brett Lee’s bouncer through Brendon McCullum’s grille a superb piece of intimidating fast bowling. It makes Matthew Hayden’s still-fluent sweep shot a current reminder of that 2001 series in India, where he just seemed to sweep everyone for four.
Stuart MacGill, who’s clearly been on a good paddock since retirement, landed leg-break after leg-break like he never stopped playing. In fact, MacGill’s brilliance on his return is best summed up by two consecutive deliveries: the big-turning leggie that was too good for a Hayden sweep shot (funnily enough), and the very next delivery, a perfectly delivered wrong ‘un that completely fooled Andrew Robinson.
Lee very nearly secured the classic catch of 2011/12, taking an airborne screamer off Hayden right on the boundary, only let it go as he crashed back to earth on the rope. Steve Smith would outdo him not too much later, perfectly planting a foot inside the rope to catch Peter Forrest, toss the ball up into the air as he overbalanced toward the fence, and simply jumped back in the field of play to reclaim the catch.
Brad Haddin’s knock will be mostly remembered for the five crisply struck sixes – particularly the one that landed on the lower roof of the Members Stand – but for mine, his shot of the night was a scorching cover drive along the carpet late in his innings.
Young Tasmanian allrounder James Faulkner won the rapid appreciation of his temporary MCG home with four cracking deliveries to West Indian master blaster, Chris Gayle. Faulkner may have even cracked a finger with the first-up bouncer, and despite conceding a boundary, he would bowl Gayle middle stump with an outstanding slower ball soon after. He’ll surely play for Australia before too long, too. He looks the goods.
Before David Warner teed off to all corners of the ‘G – and he really went after the great SK Warne – rotund Thunder ‘keeper Dan Smith scythed a square cut that left the Stars’ point and cover point fieldsman looking at each other in disbelief. Warner himself should’ve been run out from a very handy soccer onto the stumps from Matthew Wade, but went on to record an outstanding 51-ball 102 not out.
Dan Harris and Michael Klinger’s opening partnership, mainly through just good cricket shots, set up the Strikers innings for the late fireworks of Adam Crosthwaite and the unorthodoxy of Cameron Borgas. Mind you, I still can’t work out if Borgas’ scooped six off Shaun Tait was clever or suicidal.
Ben Edmondson got the wickets in Perth, but Mitch Marsh continues his promising rise. The highlight for the Scorchers was actually their excellent outfielding and three run outs that helped keep Hobart well short of a decent score.
In reply, Ben Hilfenhaus’ opening spell was nothing short of exceptional. Three overs, 2 for 6, and the third over a maiden. In a Twenty20 game. What’s not to enjoy about that? Mitch Marsh showed his all-round skills with the bat too, but ultimately, it wouldn’t be enough as the Hurricanes would defend their total surprisingly well.
So the point in all this is that even if you don’t care for the shortest form of the game, there’s still plenty of quality cricket to watch within it.
Look beyond the over-hyped and underwhelming team names. Look past the bright but garish colours that claim to be something different from what we see (memo Sixers: you can say ‘magenta’ all you like, but you’re wearing pink).
Break it all down to the lowest common denominator, and you’re left with a simple game of cricket, and ultimately, that’s all cricket fans want. So give it go, you might surprise yourself.
Oh, and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!
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The Crowd Says (37) | Page 1 of Comments
Have Your Say
- Explore:
- Australian Cricket, BBL, Cricket, David Warner
December 20th 2011 @ 9:14am
Rellum said | December 20th 2011 @ 9:14am | Report comment
I still amazes me that people like Brett think that people bagging the BBL are doing it because they don’t want a 20/20 comp and are desperate for us to go back to a old school Shield season.
The detractors like me have bagged it because CA got rid the existing comp and replaced with a bright new shiny toy that relies on hype and gimmicks to sustain its existence . There was nothing wrong with the old BB and If CA had just put in the same effort they did this year with the old structure, throw Warnie and Haydos in there if you like, they would get similar results but with the added bonus of not pissing off half of its supporter base.
This comp was thrown together to try and attract people who respond to hype, the theatre goers. The fans of 20/20 already had a comp that was doing well. Dips in crowds are expected as has been seen in the A-League so that is not a reason for dropping the whole comp, otherwise we will have a new one every 3 years.
In fact I am still trying to work out why we needed this change. Expansion can’t be it because you would need to have such growth that people start demanding new teams. The NRL and AFL are the only two comps in this country that are at this stage of growth, Brisbane, Perth and Rocky all with strong bids to enter the NRL. Outside of that only a Western Sydney A-League side is has had a broad stated desire for entry and they can’t even raise the money to get a look in.
It wasn’t that people were demanding new entities because they just couldn’t identify with the existing teams. I don’t remember anyone on this forum every writing an article calling for a restructure of 20/20 in this country.
The only reason I can see is that CA thought they could get a short term cash hit, much like TV stations do when they bring in their own version of the latest show from overseas. In fact “Excess Baggage” is a good TV comparison to what the BBL is to Australian sport.
December 20th 2011 @ 9:41am
Brett McKay said | December 20th 2011 @ 9:41am | Report comment
Rellum, there’s plenty out there who do bag the BBL for that very reason, that they don’t want a T20 comp at all. There was even comments yesterday along the lines of ‘I hate T20 and I want this to fail.’
New comps replacing existing comps in any sport will always draw the critics, and initially, I certainly had my reservations too. There’s still plenty of valid reasons for sticking with the state-based comp, too, but there’s also just as many valid reasons for the change. Expansion is certainly on the agenda, and I mentioned yesterday that teams 9 are 10 could even be on the scene as soon as BBL season 3.
But this isn’t about the comp anyway, it’s about finding the cricket within a much-maligned format..
December 20th 2011 @ 11:17am
Chris said | December 20th 2011 @ 11:17am | Report comment
Rellum – expansion potential is exactly the reason for the new structure. Not to mention the local derbies between the two Melbourne and Sydney teams. None of that would be possible if the existing state structure was kept.
And while crowds are more or less the same as last year, the TV viewing public have clearly given a big thumbs up to the format. At least after the first round.
The only problem I see is the scheduling. In my view it would be far better putting the BBL on in February and March. That way the public can really focus on it. It also allows all the players to play all the games (for this season, Warner is unlikely to be playing for the Thunder again – a ludicrous situation), and allows the Tests to be played without distraction.
Nov – Shield and domestic one-dayers
Dec – Shield, domestic one-dayers and Tests
Jan – Shield and Tests, followed by ODIs
Feb – BBL
March – BBL finishing about the middle of the month, leaving plenty of time before the football codes start their proper seasons
December 20th 2011 @ 9:34am
Ben Carter said | December 20th 2011 @ 9:34am | Report comment
Hi Brett – I believe you were equally unconvinced until seeing some of the league on telly. Fair enough – but I do not have pay-TV. Perhaps (and only perhaps) if I did, I might (and only might) watch a game or two occasionally. Ditto if it was on NIne.
But like Rellum posted above – people that dislike the new competition format are not necessarily hideously enraged about Twenty20 as a cricket match format. We’re not advocating a return to thumb-twiddling, never-ending Sheffield Shield seasons. It’s just that – and don’t say it too loudly – but the Big Bash was perfectly fine as-is. State versus state. The teams we know and love. Want eight teams? Add in the ACT/NT or North Island/South Island from New Zealand.
I would also have probably cut the Ryobi Cup back to a straight 15-game series with semis and a final instead of an unusual number of matches per team. Leave the Shield as-is and bring back the Big Bash as it was. Then I’ll care about what goes on at the venues around Australia in a T20 format. Nothing wrong with T20 cricket. Something definitely wrong (and weird) about this particular T20 competition in Australia this summer.
December 20th 2011 @ 10:03am
Brett McKay said | December 20th 2011 @ 10:03am | Report comment
hey Ben, I had to chop out a couple of paragraphs that would explained all this for you perfectly. In the early days, when the T20 format was still a bit of a novelty, for me it just wasn’t that good to watch. I had no issue playing the format, and I’ve often said that a tight T20 game is probably more mentally and physically taxing than a tight 50 over game.
But I still couldn’t get into the various T20 comps, they just didn’t draw me in with their hype and carry-on. I still think T20 Internationals are a waste of time, and I’ll never change that view. Happily, it’s a view being shared by plenty of others – Rahul Dravid only last week made the same point in his Bradman Oration.
At some point in the last 18 months though, I’d watch the odd game without caring about the result or anything, and I found that was the way I was getting drawn in. By just watching bat v ball or ball v bat, it became much more enjoyable, and now I look forward to games. I still don’t care about results, I just watch it for the cricket..
As I said to Rellum above though, there’s plenty of reasons why they should and shouldn’t have replaced the old Big Bash. I get all those arguments, though again, I’ll say that talk of bringing in NZ teams overlooks their right to develop their own T20 comp into something bigger too.
December 20th 2011 @ 10:21am
Ben Carter said | December 20th 2011 @ 10:21am | Report comment
Thanks for taking the time to reply Brett. I had a family member secure me a ticket for day two of the Adelaide Test (we’ll be away on holidays conveniently during that week!) but if it was a T20 on at the time I might consider going to that, or Ryobi Cup, or World Series game. Maybe Cricket Australia could look at a combined 12 or 16-team T20 comp including NZ districts as well down the track?… Anyway, as for T20 internationals. They are nothing more to me than a fun warm-up before a series of one-dayers.
December 20th 2011 @ 10:37am
Brett McKay said | December 20th 2011 @ 10:37am | Report comment
Ben, where once the talk was about a trans-Tasman Southern Premier League, or even a SANZAR-style comp, I think what we’ll see now is NZ and Aus co-operating so that their T20 comps don’t overlap, which would theortically encourge players going both ways. Brendon McCullum, for eg, flew back to NZ for the weekend to play a T20 game for Otago; the NZ comp is also on now. Brett Lee and Brad Hodge played in NZ last summer.
I’m not against Australia and New Zealand merging their two leagues, but I wouldn’t want to see a token NZ team brought into the BBL just for sake of expansion in Australia – that would only devalue the NZ comp..
December 20th 2011 @ 11:05am
Ben Carter said | December 20th 2011 @ 11:05am | Report comment
Me neither. I’d hope to eventually get a combined competition featuring the eight Aussie sides and say six NZ teams…
December 20th 2011 @ 9:46am
Rhys said | December 20th 2011 @ 9:46am | Report comment
Well written Brett, I totally agree with your argument.
From memory I was 9 or 10 when World Series Cricket dared to challenge the traditions and established norms of the game. I recall plenty of my ‘elders’ at the time being outraged and predicting the demise of the old ways. Until the time WSC exploded onto the sporting landscape I recall having little interest in the game. Before long I was out there every summer trying my best to imitate Lillee, Laird, Pascoe, Chappell etc – poorly I might add – but try to imitate I did.
Within a couple of years the establishment realised this frightening insurrection onto their previously unchallenged territory was here to stay, and the rest as they say is history. T20 is undeniably here to stay and can (and is) exist quite happily, and indeed compliment, its older brothers in the game. And how on earth would a talent like David Warner’s have been discovered and developed if not for T20. With the AFL announcing record payments for rookie players, and the sporting landscape being more competitive than ever, cricket needs all the glitz and glamour it can get to attract talented and young atheletes to its environment.
The new teams will take time to bed in to the wider public consciousness, but with some tweaking here and there I see no reason why the new BBL can’t compliment, and indeed enhance Australia’s cricketing environment.
And a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and all the Roar regulars out there
December 20th 2011 @ 10:08am
Brett McKay said | December 20th 2011 @ 10:08am | Report comment
Rhys, your point about Warner is well made, though before he was a T20 superstar he had played age champs and 2nd XI cricket for NSW too. He was always a decent cricketer, which often gets forgetten.
But it’s interesting that of all these young guys starting to make their mark in the Test side, Warner, Pat Cummins, Nathan Lyon, and even James Pattinson to a degree, all “came of age” in T20 cricket..
December 20th 2011 @ 11:20am
Chris said | December 20th 2011 @ 11:20am | Report comment
Isn’t it interesting how the T20 playing style has evolved in the few short years of its existence. Where once almost everyone with bat would be trying all sorts of lairy shots, these days it’s all pretty traditional stuff. Now the unusual is exactly that – unusual. Good technique (in batting, bowling and fielding) has made a welcome return.
December 20th 2011 @ 11:47am
Ryan O'Connell said | December 20th 2011 @ 11:47am | Report comment
Great point Chris. Good cricket shots are just that: ‘good’, regardless of the format.
December 20th 2011 @ 12:05pm
Brett McKay said | December 20th 2011 @ 12:05pm | Report comment
Chris, you’re right, and it’s this evolution that made Cameron Borgas’ approach to Shaun Tait so unusual. The scooped 6 I mentioned was followed with what I can only describe as a two-handed overhead tennis swat in front of square leg (if you can cretae that picture). Warner, D.Hussey. M.Marsh, Haddin just bombed long through the line of the ball…
December 20th 2011 @ 2:42pm
The Cattery said | December 20th 2011 @ 2:42pm | Report comment
Agree with that, and good article Brett, summed up my own feelings and approach to the game very well – 120 bat and ball contests per innings – every single one is important to the outcome of the overall contest.
December 20th 2011 @ 2:47pm
The Cattery said | December 20th 2011 @ 2:47pm | Report comment
Actually, there was one weird shot I recall seeing, can’t remember which game or who did it, but the ball was pitched right up, almost a yorker, the batsman has got right down on his haunches and then flipped the ball over his shoulder, and somehow, not sure how, it has made it for a six.
Even watching it on replay it looks like an optical illusion (that it made it all the way), there appears to be zero power in the shot, utilising the pace of the ball, but even then, it just doesn’t seem right in terms of pure physics.
December 20th 2011 @ 7:01pm
Brett McKay said | December 20th 2011 @ 7:01pm | Report comment
Catters, that was Cameron Borgas off Shaun Tait that I mentioned above. Just think about where you have to get your head to play that shot, and then remember IT’S SHAUN BLOODY TAIT BOWLING!!
December 20th 2011 @ 7:09pm
The Cattery said | December 20th 2011 @ 7:09pm | Report comment
heh, heh, that’s the one, and yes, I still find it hard to believe that someone would attempt such a shot, let alone that it would actually make it all the way for six, yeh, basically, if he misjudges the scoop, he has no head left
December 20th 2011 @ 7:20pm
Brett McKay said | December 20th 2011 @ 7:20pm | Report comment
Precisely, and that’s why I mentioned “clever or suicidal” in the column. And after you consder all that, you have to remeber that it also cleared the scroeboard corner fence at the Adelaide Oval – it’d have to be one of the longer boundaries in Australia…
December 20th 2011 @ 7:30pm
The Cattery said | December 20th 2011 @ 7:30pm | Report comment
the shot defied physics – crazy stuff
December 20th 2011 @ 11:53am
AdamLudeke said | December 20th 2011 @ 11:53am | Report comment
Faulkner looks a beauty, Brett.
He’s got the best variety of any seamer in the country at the moment. I think he’ll feature strongly for Australia this summer.
December 20th 2011 @ 12:07pm
Brett McKay said | December 20th 2011 @ 12:07pm | Report comment
I’d not seen a lot of him, Adam, but to be able to bounce Chris Gayle at 140kph one ball, and then do with a 115kph slow ball out the back of the hand three deliveries later, that’s a serious talent. At 21…
December 20th 2011 @ 4:50pm
lolly said | December 20th 2011 @ 4:50pm | Report comment
I’ve watched him bowl before on Shield streams and in short formats and quite frankly, Starc getting picked before him for test cricket was outrageous. He’s got far more control, a much better record and he can bat.
He would have gone on the A tour to Zim in the middle of the year except he got glandular fever. Massive talent that player.
December 20th 2011 @ 1:24pm
Fat Sally said | December 20th 2011 @ 1:24pm | Report comment
I find 20/20 pretty monotonous now. There are very rarely any close games, and because they play so many now days I’m not really fussed who wins. It is near saturation point and the whole package from teams to commentators come across as forced about their enjoyment of it.
I have a few mates who play first class cricket and I know for a fact they aren’t excited about playing it.
December 20th 2011 @ 1:29pm
Brett McKay said | December 20th 2011 @ 1:29pm | Report comment
Sally, that’s another reason for not watching for a result. I found even playing that the likely result often becomes apparent within the 6-9 over range of the FIRST innings. All four BBL games over the weekend were actually quite processional by the end..
December 20th 2011 @ 2:50pm
Russ said | December 20th 2011 @ 2:50pm | Report comment
Brett, like any cricket, T20 has its own risk vs reward for how attacking a batsman can be. In general the higher the risk, the more likely the failure, so teams are as likely to go from 2/70 after 10 overs to 120ao as 3/170. For the chasing side though, anything less than 7rpo is generally a doddle, anything over 9 and the chance of the risks taken paying off reduce dramatically.
The trick then is to keep sides in parity as long as possible. For that reason I’d like to see a 10 over split innings, so teams can jostle until at least the half-way point. And the possibility of substituting out players who haven’t batted at the split; so a team that is struggling with the bat can reinforce the lower order (at the expense of bowling options). One day cricket is like chess in gaming terms though, unfortunately, once a team has the upper-hand in resources it becomes easier to assert themselves over their opposition.
December 20th 2011 @ 2:33pm
Midfielder said | December 20th 2011 @ 2:33pm | Report comment
It rated its socks off …. has got heaps of press the pages in the dailies was akin to the NRL or AFL… usually first sport in News programming ….
Wonders aloud what more you want mate …. like maybe have everyone sign a pledge they must watch and only say nice things… for mercy sake get in the real world … not everybody likes everything new ….
December 20th 2011 @ 6:59pm
Brett McKay said | December 20th 2011 @ 6:59pm | Report comment
no question Middie, ratings were huge over the weekend, and it’ll be interesting to see how it continues. I’m not sure I follow your last bit though, I’m not demanding anyone must watch anything, I was just telling my T20 story..
December 20th 2011 @ 2:41pm
Axelv said | December 20th 2011 @ 2:41pm | Report comment
I’m not a big fan of 20/20 but will watch it sometimes. Despite that I would still secretly hope that Victoria win every game.
This new competition has no soul, I don’t give a stuff about the Melbourne Stars, Renegades, Hurricanes, Sixers, Heat, Scorchers, and whatever else ridiculous and joke teams are out there. Vic vs NSW or Vic vs QLD, or Vic vs South Australia etc all has meaning to me, but this BBL is meaningless and has me not interested in the slightest. It’s down right patronizing and embarrassing, I hope it flops.
December 20th 2011 @ 6:57pm
Brett McKay said | December 20th 2011 @ 6:57pm | Report comment
here Rellum, this is what I’m talking about!
Axel, you wouldn’t be alone in your views, so thanks for sharing them here today..
December 21st 2011 @ 11:09am
Rellum said | December 21st 2011 @ 11:09am | Report comment
I think you will find he is agreeing with me there champ. All the skills and thrills where there last season as well.
December 21st 2011 @ 11:17am
Brett McKay said | December 21st 2011 @ 11:17am | Report comment
Yes, I know, that was my point. Axel is also “not a big fan of 20/20 but will watch it sometimes” and hopes “it flops”
But as I said to you yesterday, I’m not talking about the new comp, I’m just talking about the cricket being played..
December 21st 2011 @ 11:38am
Rellum said | December 21st 2011 @ 11:38am | Report comment
My point is that there was cricket being played and people were going to see it. There was zero reason to change it.
December 21st 2011 @ 12:07pm
Brett McKay said | December 21st 2011 @ 12:07pm | Report comment
sure, but at no point have said anything about that one way or the other. I mentioned “Twenty20 cricket detractors” because there are plenty of them – not of the old or new comp, but the format itself..
December 21st 2011 @ 12:36pm
Rellum said | December 21st 2011 @ 12:36pm | Report comment
No one that I can see said we should get rid of 20/20. AS in my original post, the discussion is about new new comp format, not the 20/20 format.
December 21st 2011 @ 3:40pm
Brett McKay said | December 21st 2011 @ 3:40pm | Report comment
I know no-one is saying get rid of T20, but there are still plenty who don’t like it as a format. And you discussion might be about the new comp, but I’m not talking about whether the BBL is needed or not. You raised that, not my column..
December 21st 2011 @ 12:56pm
Axelv said | December 21st 2011 @ 12:56pm | Report comment
Brett McKay it is not 20/20 that I hope flops, it’s the new Big Bash League that I hope will flop.
I’ve watched many Internationals, IPL, Champions League 20/20′s because they’ve all been on Free to Air TV and I have gotten great entertainment by watching them. Test is by far my preferred form of cricket but 20/20 is okay.
The state teams were only on Pay TV but I would still keep an eye on the results and care about Victoria. This new format, I couldn’t care less for it!
December 21st 2011 @ 3:41pm
Brett McKay said | December 21st 2011 @ 3:41pm | Report comment
OK, fair enough Axel, I thought you were following on from not being a fan of T20..