- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Cricket seems to be in the middle of the greatest burst of popularity ever at the moment.
In an age when every fragment of entertainment talent is fighting for exposure, cricket has swept the opposition away.
Justin Langer recently said he didn’t mind which form of cricket lasted longest, he’s just thrilled to his core that cricket is on everyone’s lips.
The question posed to Justin is a good one.
Is 20-20 going to take over from Tests in the next five years and will Test cricket disappear after that?
It would seem a silly question on the basis of a five-nil whitewash of England, especially with a series coming up against South Africa, another series in Australia next summer against India and the 2015 Ashes in England.
But the 2014 T20 WorldCup in Bangladesh is imminent and its popularity is almost guaranteed.
What Big Bash has done for 20-20 in Australia is a microcosm of what the IPL did for that game in India.
Some say Tests will disappear. Some say 50-50 is on the way out.
Could Twenty20 become similar to baseball?
This could mean having a designated batter and designated bowler and even designated fielders?
Fielder evolution might be the next development in Twenty20.
We simply must involve more than 11 men for each side. There is no point having six or seven blokes running helmets and drinks and messages and towels onto the park if they are the entertainment.
In Australia, the low ticket prices and entertainment value play a big part in getting crowds to the game. Big hits, unbelievable fielding and catching and great bowling are keeping them there.
Aside from the match itself there are fireworks, flame throwers, dancers, food, just like a new age fair.
Anytime you can get a night of entertainment for less than a hundred dollars for a family is a good night.
And internationally, the game could continue to grow. If the ICC can build up the smaller nations, like Canada, the USA, the Netherlands and so on, we could see a real worldwide boost in the popularity of cricket.
However they choose to do it, cricket administrators have a great product on the field which they could sell all across the globe.
The game has taken off across the sub continent as well as in England, Australia and New Zealand. As long as the ICC manage it well, the only way is up for Twenty20 cricket.
Build your own fantasy cricket team and put it to the test with Draftstars daily fantasy competitions. Pick your match, pick your team and watch the points roll in to take out cash prizes on each match. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit.