Australian Twenty20 in a time warp

Left Arm Spinner,agreed that up and comers can feed off the proven players. Different mind set more than skill sets. The eye hand coordination is still vital in any form. Good batters and bowlers will find a way in any game. The fielding Captain has to have the mental reflexes of a brain surgeon. One mistake and you're dead. Of all the captains going around today I think Dhoni is the most adaptable. Does anyone remember the Barry Knight Indoor school at kent and then Eastern Valley Way?

Alf Gover, now theres a name. I used to practice in his indoor nets in London!!!! yep, its time for a rethink. Its like Gary Player says, the more I practice, the luckier I get!!!! Australia needs to play more 20/20 if they want to be any good at it. The IPL, while being predominantly entertainment, is also a great development ground for up and coming Indian players to mix and learn from existing proven players and jointly develop the game and the skills it demands.

Jason a lot of cricket lovers would agree with you and definitely there is a possibility that too much 20/20 will grate on many fans. The immediate future of the IPL is assured though for the next three years as contracts with players and broadcasters are set in stone. The trend with 50 over cricket is worth recollecting. In the 1970's it started with one game in 1971 and progressed slowly to half a dozen and then an average of 20 to thirty a year always peaking in World Cup years. In 1979 25 ODI's were played in 1983 played 65 in 1987 played 73. Twenty years later in 2007 a total of 190 ODI's were played. So far in 2009 64 have been played. So the pattern is to peak in a World Cup year. If you take the IPL and the World 20/20 and the upcoming Champions Trophy more than 120 games will be played this year. It is debatable if the Administrators can strike a balance. The balance has to be forced on them by the viewing public at the grounds and with their remotes.

T20 cricket is abomination. The fact that lesser players like Shaun Marsh, Shane Watson, Yuvraj Singh, Ian Harvey and even an over the hill part timer like Gilly can excel at T20 proves this. I took the time to watch a fair bit of the IPL and it became pretty clear pretty quickly that T20 has already become as formulaic as the much maligned 50 overs cricket. It is all about score at 10 an over for the first 6 overs, save wickets for the next 8-10 overs while the slow bowlers (not necessarily spinners) do their thing with full and tight bowling which mostly goes for singles and then try to score 50+ off the last 5 overs. It's 50 over cricket x 40% but without the ebbs and flows. I really hope IPL moves to twice a season because the whole concept will be dead in a couple of years as fans realise what a crock it is. And the Australian selectors should not put Phil Hughes within a hundred miles of the T20 side - he could be an absolute gem in real cricket so why waste him. Ditto Mitchell Johnson.

WCR: It is about control and power. If you recall the ICL started the 20/20 in India and initially the BCCI derided the concept. When they saw the interest they decided to start their own and actually improved on the model. Having secured a market they set about monopolising it. In fact they have consolidated the market and virtually closed down the so called Rebel league by offering an amnesty to the former ICL players and support staff. At last count 79 of the 120 odd players in the ICL had come back to the fold. This is what leads me to surmise there will be a secondary minor league which will feed the major league. There is a decent market for cricket in the Miami and new York area with the Asian diaspora and the West indian proximity.And if the truth be known the ICC is dictated to by the BCCI.

Why would they frown upon a push into the American market. If it's a success Cricket in the US could get a hell of a boost. They have only recently appointed a CEO.

WCR. Actually Jason gillespie and Michael Bevan are fronting this US adventure. Not sanctioned by the ICC and in all likelihood its participants will be banned. Wont matter because they are either retired or already banned. It will be interesting in the case of Gillespie and bevan as they presumably get Superannuation from CA. Someone should tell these administrators you cant be tried for the same crime twice.

Umm.. There is a growing club scene with many more now filtering out of the schools. But it's a major game in the schools system. and they get very big crowds to school games. I have actually played Baseball. And was offered a place at Westfield Sports High for it. It was ok to play but I could never sit down and watch it. Being at a game probably enhances it through atmosphere. But T20 as a TV product seems to be able to transfer the crowd atmosphere through the screen. Supposedly there is an American PL on the books. It will be interesting to see what reaction and exposure that gets.

WCR : Is Rugby In SL just played in Schools or is there an organised club scene. That is a lot of players. Where do they rank in the Asian Rugby and is there a Confederation. I know there is still some organised Rugby in Kolkata and Mumbai. I personally still prefer the 50 overs as it offers more ebbs and flows. The 50 overs game has helped speed up Test Cricket and I feel the 20/20 will brighten up the 20-40 over period in the 50's version. Baseball is a bit like Aussie Rules. It does not come through well on TV. But live in a packed stadiumit is a spectacle. I watched the Padres in San Diego and I can understand what they mean when they say "Take me to the Ball Game"

Vinay Good point about Rugby in India and Sri Lanka. Actually the are over 100,000 Rugby player's in Sri Lanka these days. Kersi Personally I love the T20 format of the game. And I love Test criket. I could do away with the 50 over version. With T20 Cricket has finally found the right formula expand the game beyond it's traditional borders even though I have heard many 'experts' openly critise the format. No one could after watching both T20 and Baseball be able to tell you Baseball more exciting. And Philip Hughes should have been in the T20 squad. He has been described as unorthodox. Which is exactly what T20 calls for.

Kersi,I would hope that Cricket Boards like ECB and CA would resist the two IPL scenario. I doubt that Boards or cricketers from Sri lanka,NZ.West Indies and South Africa will object as apart from SA the other three Boards are not cash positive. In fact all Cricket Boards will be paid between 7to15 million dollars each from the TV rights for the upcoming Cham,pions League in India. Of course this is limited to the Boards that have participating teams. Pakistan is excluded and I need to check if bangladesh have a team qualified. The recent contracts for Australian players may be enough incentive for them to continue to play more Test Cricket. Really,the future of Test Cricket is very much in the hands of Australia and England and to a lesser extent South Africa. If the upcoming Ashes prove as close as 2005 then Test Cricket will get a reprieve. But the knives are out and the paying punters want excitement and value for money. So Test Cricket has to continue on the path of the last decade where there are fewer draws. Cricket Boards have to ensure sporting pitches where everyone has a chance. The dead pitches that produce boring draws have to go. Broadcasters want pitches that will last 5 days so the advertisers get bang for their buck. Little do they realise that boring cricket over five days is going to turn people off. An exciting Test over three or four days will enhance a sponsors brand more. So Test Cricket cannot afford to sit on its backside. They have to bowl 90 overs for a start. And this will encourage spinners. Ponting was forced to use part timers in India to keep up the over rate. This probably cost him the Test. .

Vinay, I hope that you are right in predicting that all three forms of cricket will co-exist. But the problem is time. If IPL will be staged twice a year and more T20 clashes at the drop of a hat, would 365 days a year be sufficient to play Test cricket embracing most countries? Wouldn't MacDonald fast food take over from mother's / wife's home-cooked meals? Proceed with caution is all I say. And include Phil Hughes in T20s. He would have made a significant difference in the 2009 ICC World T20.

Right on Hemjay. Land mass is what I was talking about. Yes cricket is an obsession in Sri lanka and with Sri lankans in general. You may be surprised but both India and Sri Lanka also play Rugby union,which was a product of the private schools. In fact at school in India I played cricket,rugby,hockey and took part in boxing but gave up after being knocked out in the first minute of the first fight. New Zealand suffer because of their lack of bench strength. And of course the national obsession over the ditch is Rugby.A few Kiwis have played both Rugby and Cricket at Test level. I am not sure if Brian Mckechnie,he of the underarm drama with Trevor Chappell,played for the All Blacks?

Vinay, When talking small country you are talking land area right not population? Population wise Sri lanka is very similar to that of Australia and 5 times that of NZ. I'm not 100% but isn't cricket an obsession in Sri Lanka like it is in India, Pakistan and more recently Bangladesh? They are a very good team and it will only bet a matter of time before they are rivalling the top teams. I find it amazing that NZ is so crap at test cricket but are generally very good at one day and T20 cricket

John.there certainly seems to be a clique within the Australian setup. Harder to get in than get out. The IPL has scouts all over the world including Australia and they saw the potential in Shaun Marsh,Ronch,Travis Birt and Nannes. Brad Hodge is valued by his IPL franchise. Players like Mike Hussey have to make way for someone like Cameron White. CA may well be valuing certain players more than they are worth iin an effort to keep them loyal. El Captain Sri Lanka is not a bad Test side at the moment. They have good batters in Jayawardne,Sangakarra,Dislshan and Sameerawara. And two fantastic spinners. Actually Sri Lanka are to be commended because they have gone through 23 years of civil war and a Tsunami. For a small country they have certainly fought above their weight. I agrre Australia needs at least four new players in their Twenty/20. Callum Ferguson,Travis Birt, Hodge and Pomersbach would be a start.

I've always seen that there was two types of players. Test players that could perform long gruling overs of batting and bowling, and the players naturaly gifted to the short form of the game. Looking at some of the ODWC teams you see that they arn't really stong at test level (Sri Lanka, Windies now), but are excellant players of the short game. Also some players only play on type of cricket. this is the way Aust must go. Entirely new team that just plays ODI or Twenty20 and Test matches. Truth is there is no money in test cricket so players will drift towards the faster games. What will Cricket Aust do?

I could not agree more. Out with the old and in with the new. The leading performiers in Australian domestic 20/20 competition where not rewarded with selection in the Australian side eg. Brad Hodge. Once again favourites got the nod.