Australia crashing out in the group stages of a tournament normally triggers days of trial and judgement on the back page of every newspaper.
Australia’s World T20 World side managed to avoid that completely.
Oh sorry. Yes, there was a T20 World Cup. Yes, it finished on Sunday. No, we didn’t go well. No, I didn’t hear a thing about it either.
And that’s the real question. Why in a nation where cricket is undoubtedly our national pastime, was there such a low level of interest in the T20 World Cup?
Cricket fatigue
There’s every chance that after such an incredible summer of Test matches fans simply needed a break from the game.
If you look at the northern Ashes series as the entree, the thoroughly satisfying home Ashes series as the main course and the fantastic South African series as the cherry on top, Australian cricket tragics have been treated to a solid nine months of top class contests.
There’s a moment in every summer when the single national consciousness begins to split into the multiple personalities of the winter football codes. Success on the pitch usually delays this moment, but early March is surely as far as that unified attention span for one sport goes.
The interchangeable game
Unlike Test players, the players in T20 games are almost wholly interchangeable. There are a few reasons for this, but the dominance of the bat over ball in this format is a big reason. The decreased time in which to get out is another.
Put it this way. In Test matches, there’s only a select few players who have the talent and temperament to score a century.
But in T20, any number of players can come out in the last four overs and belt the white ball to all corners of the park. Chris Gayle and Brendan McCullum are international superstars who can decimate any attack.
But Ahmed Shezad, Umar Akmal or TLW Cooper, who all featured in the tournaments top scorers list, can replicate their feats. Good luck seeing any of those guys score a Test century anytime soon.
In that way, tournaments are often interchangeable too. The fact the game is more like a highlights reel than an ebbing and flowing contest means that not only players, but also whole teams are interchangeable.
Which is another reason Australian fans barely acknowledged the tournament in Bangladesh. After all, didn’t we just have one of those here during the summer when the Big Bash was on? And at least that had players and teams that were somewhat recognisable.
No upside
There is just no upside for Australian fans following the T20 team. With the successes of the summer in the longer formats, and our great record in the ODI World Cup, anything less than a win is a failure.
The real joy in these tournaments belongs to the tiny minnow teams who spring an upset on the biggest stage that they will ever play on. I mean, imagine how happy all of the 17 cricket fans in the Netherlands were when they humiliated England, who looked like they’d asked the Dutch for their old playing strips that day.
T20 cricket is here to stay, and tickets were sold out for all matches in Bangladesh, while Indians were glued to their TVs for three weeks and Sri Lankans were delirious after their victory. But as far as Australians fans were concerned, we just did not care.
Clark
Guest
You cant just say that because Australia did bad
Raj Padarath
Roar Pro
No doubt there's a path from T20 to ODI's and tests, there's plenty of examples from around the world of that but the players that play tests definitely adapt their games to stay in the test teams. And the pathway is much more accessible for batsmen than all-rounders and bowlers.
Raj Padarath
Roar Pro
The identity crisis is real yeah, the players command serious money and the administrators want it to be a serious game so that they can sell season coverage to broadcasters but I think most fans still think of it as a cross between promotion / light entertainment rather than something to get emotionally invested in. P.S. How good was beach cricket, and seeing the old legends grabbing a beer from the bar between innings!
Raj Padarath
Roar Pro
I think you're right that there would've been more media coverage, but I don't think the level of interest from the general public would've been much higher. How many conversations did you hear about the tournament around the place?
Raj Padarath
Roar Pro
That's a good point Brendon, while the Ashes series and SA games carry huge amounts of prestige, it's fairly obvious that the power base of the game has shifted well and truly to the subcontinent, especially India. The amount of power they have because of the BCCI's forceful takeover of the ICC backed by IPL riches is most of the reason, but it'll be interesting to see how the new power structure plays out in the coming years.
Brendon
Guest
I know my comment is late but no one has made this point yet. One reason is that it was yet another ICC world cup held on the Asian sub-continent with slow, low boring pitches in small grounds with boundary ropes almost at the batsmen's feet. The 2012 T20 world cup was held in Sri Lanka and the 2018 T20 World Cup will be held in India. By the time 2020 rolls around Pakistan's domestic problems will have most likely improved so they will most likely host the 2020 version. Between 1992, when we last hosted a major ICC tournament (ODI World Cup, T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy) and next year's ODI World Cup in Australia, there were 17 major ICC tournaments. None of which Australia hosted. 7 of those were hosted in the Sub-Continent. While there are 4 test teams in that region Pakistan has not been able to host large tournaments for a number of years and Bangladesh was not made a full test member until a number of years after the 1992 world cup in Australia.
DCNZ
Guest
If Austraya had won the tourney there would have been blanket media coverage about the new generation of Aussie cricket stars, watch out world we are on the way back we were brilliant, beat the sub-contintentals in their backyard. but they were rubbish.
Shouts Chen
Guest
Australia were very horrible in the WT20 Tournament in Bangladesh. Australia weren't focused on batting and bowling well and they were being beaten by India, West Indies and Pakistan. They didn't make the finals but beaten the home nation that left them winless. So that meant that the Australian Team were fighting to save them from disaster. And the Australians care of AFL Season, NRL Season and the FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Fatman
Guest
This sums it up for me. I just can't get excited about a quick snack :)
dave
Guest
I Remember the beach cricket series at Coolangatta where they had heaps of the old players involved. It was all done in jest with beers between overs and such but guys like Border,Thommo etc are always trying to win no matter the format. It was great to watch. Perhaps the problem with T20 is that it wants to be viewed as a serious sport.
Bobbo7
Guest
I meant loose shots, but the above may also be the case.
Bobbo7
Guest
You can't tell the players did not care. IPL contracts etc ride on performance and any sports team want to win. Some non test players there too with plenty to prove. Problem is the Aussies thought they were unbeatable, which they should have been on paper. Too many loose shits too early etc
vikramsudan
Guest
T20 format should be stop . IF it is continue Georoge Bailey should captain of t20 format. Shaun Marsh should should be three format of the gsme.
ChrisB
Guest
While your obviously a superior kind of person with your hatred of tip and run, I do agree the SA tests were sensational and fatigue set in. However, one question for you- given crowds in SA, given it was such a key, quality series, were pretty poor, and given Indian test crowds are also low lately, does that not make you pause and think that tests are in big trouble outside the Ashes? The simple fact is, outside a probably ageing, dwindling band of devotees, test cricket is becoming passé outside of Australia and England. And given crowds and money talk, I'm afraid we may all be stuck with tip and run. And you know what, give it a go, it's not got the nuances of tests, granted, but it's pretty damn entertaining.
ChrisB
Guest
While your obviously a superior kind of person with your hatred of tip and run, I do agree the SA tests were sensational and fatigue set in. However, one question for you- given crowds in SA, given it was such a key, quality series, were pretty poor, and given Indian test crowds are also low lately, does that not make you pause and think that tests are in big trouble outside the Ashes? The simple fact is, outside a probably ageing, dwindling band of devotees, test cricket is becoming passé outside of Australia and England. And given crowds and money talk, I'm afraid we may all be stuck with tip and run. And you know what, give it a go, it's not got the nuances of tests, granted, but it's pretty damn entertaining.
ChrisB
Guest
Many people who are open minded are starting to accept that Maxwell is actually a pretty special talent, but one who needs some longer-form discipline. He's more than just a T20 slogger
ChrisB
Guest
Yes but the inconvenient fact is that people actually seem to like it. And given that even in most traditional test countries test cricket crowds are quite poor, it does make you wonder what will be around in 20-30 years. I can see a situation where, perhaps Ashes aside, tests are sort of boutique, heritage matches, and international cricket will be a series of tournaments rather than bi-nation tours. Sort of more like international ice hockey or soccer are
ChrisB
Guest
On at night, our guys were rubbish, overload post double Ashes & SA series, a bit of snobbery towards T20, footy season kicking off - all of the above.
formeropenside
Guest
ODI's is playing special dress up with the wife in the soundproofed room. And sometimes her sister too.
Raj Padarath
Roar Pro
So does that makes ODIs the girl you dated for a while which was great at first but eventually the excitement faded?