The first official Twenty20 match was played on 13 June, 2003 in England. Who would have thought a few years later the game would explode into the popular, money-making phenomenon it has become.
Test cricket is still by far my favourite format of the game and I am still not an avid disciple of the game’s shortest version (if I am being completely honest, I couldn’t name all eight IPL franchises).
However as a passionate cricket fan, there is no doubt Twenty20 has improved the sport out of sight. Here are six reasons why.
1. Sophisticated hitting
The size of boundaries being reduced and the heaver, more advanced bats being used certainly have raised some legitimate questions about the fairness of the contest between bat and ball.
However what’s easy to forget in this debate is the innovation in batsmanship.
Batsmen have invented more ways to hit the ball since the advent of Twenty20 cricket. A perfectly pitched yorker is still near impossible to hit, but for the bowler it’s harder to find the desired length because they are being out-thought by the batsmen.
Possibly the two most famous shots to enter cricket since the advent of Twenty20 are the ‘ramp shot’ and the ‘switch hit’. These shots involve high risk and skill but are preformed regularly by many players now.
2. Athletics in the field
The modern day cricketer is typically lean, muscular and very fit – look at how well built Mitchell Johnson is for example.
The modern day cricketers, dive, run, throw and work in tandem with the rest of the field better than their predecessors and the speed of Twenty20 cricket is a big reason for this.
The ball is flying in all directions regularly. The ability to save runs is now more important than ever.
Watching a modern cricket team in the field is a spectacle in itself.
3. Serious money
Before the advent of World Series Cricket, the Australian cricket team was being paid less than $70 per Test match.
The Indian Premier League brand is worth an estimated $2.99 billion. It has made many players incredibly wealthy.
Over 20,000 people attended the Big Bash final in Perth. You would be lucky if 20,000 people attended a season of Sheffield Shield cricket.
More money in the game opens up many more possibilities in all formats.
4. Keeping good players in the game longer
Brad Hodge holds the world record for most runs in Twenty20 cricket. He is 39.
Brad Hogg was man of the match in the Big Bash final. He is 43!
The greater emphasis on fitness and the shorter duration of the game is keeping champions in it for longer – Hodge is arguably good enough to still play Test cricket.
5. Chances for players who would not have otherwise flourished
Craig Simmons, previously a little known club-cricketer, made 388 runs in the Big Bash at an average of 35.27 and a strikerate of 167. He clubbed two of the seven centuries made in the history of the competition.
If Twenty20 didn’t exist the chances for employment in cricket would be bleak for character like Simmons.
Ryan ten Doeschate from the Netherlands is as skillful as any first-class cricketer. However he has few chances to represent his own country, so he makes a living playing Twenty20 instead.
Twenty20 rapidly accelerated David Warner’s ascent to the top of the game too.
6. Producing results-orientated cricket
When Alan Border was Test captain of Australia his team had 39 draws in 93 Tests; since Border retired Australia have drawn 39 of their last 225 Tests.
Since 2003, 354 of 482 Test matches have produced results. 13 of the 22 quickest run rates in a Test innings have happened since the advent of Twenty20.
Draws in Tests aren’t necessarily boring – look at the India v South Africa Test recently – but the increase in scoring and the higher risk in stroke play is leading to more exciting Test cricket.
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