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For a brief moment, we faced the nightmare of a summer without a ball being bowled, such was the acrimony in the cricket pay dispute.
Industrial conflict in the game is nothing new. Historical parallels have been drawn, but unlike the Big 6 from 1912 or the World Series Cricket rift, the modern player has employment options not afforded to their predecessors.
The lucrative T20 circuit is gaining legitimacy as a genuine professional alternative to Test cricket.
Twenty20, once a curiosity, has evolved into a sophisticated body of serious standing. The tipping point inches closer, where the form is a career choice in its own right, rather than an addendum to representing your country.
To what extent though, is T20 approaching parity of prestige?
Batting coach Trent Woodhill remarked on Twitter that T20 is the purest form of cricket. When I asked him to clarify, he replied:
“Without question. Every skill under pressure during every match moment plus crowd pressure, which is no longer experienced during longer forms.”
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There’s much to admire about Trent’s approach to batting, and his influence on David Warner, Steve Smith, AB de Villiers et al is testament to his approach of testing technique under pressure, as opposed to reinventing how one bats.
But the purest form of cricket? It’s enough to upset the purists.
If pressure is the focal point of cricket purism, then we must consider it in all its forms.
How do you countenance crowd pressure in a T20 game or the need to score off every ball, with say an Ashes series on the line?
Edgbaston 2005. Adelaide 1993. Sydney 1994. If only a handful of people were there, would Michael Kasprowicz or Craig McDermott or Damien Martyn have felt any less pressure? Yes, Test cricket has attendance concerns, but the weight of the nation does not diminish.
There’s no denying T20 is relentless, but aided by power plays and over limits, there are degrees of respite. And there’s a lot of it.
In the context of five days and 400-plus overs, time management is far more integral to outcomes. Key moments are magnified. But further to that, we look at these moments not only in the context of the match, but in the context of history.
That Test match cricket has been going for 140 years is proof we care. And this entrenched meaning adds another layer to a player’s self-efficacy.
Talent gets you opportunity, but mental strength sustains you. If purity is pressure then Test cricket remains the sport’s purest form.
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