The Netherlands cricket team celebrate after defeating England in their Twenty20 World Cup cricket match at Lord's cricket ground in London, Friday, June, 5, 2009. AP Photo/Alastair Grant
Two months of non-stop Twenty20 cricket is going to come to an end this weekend and I am thrilled about that. Let’s be honest, Twenty20 is nothing more than fluff, and as the over-saturation of it continues, the novelty factor of it is going to dissipate more and more.
It is clear that the men on top of the cricketing food chain are motivated by greed and this is going to shape the future of cricket.
They are going to want to have more and more Twenty20 tournaments.
The first Twenty20 Champions League is happening at the end of the year and there are plans to expand the IPL from eight teams to ten.
While the games are happening, they are nothing more than wallpaper, something to keep us entertained in the here and now. They are nothing to stand the test of time, though.
Who is going to remember what happened in this year’s IPL tournament two months from now?
What the powers that be need to appreciate is that the two other forms of the game give Twenty20 its impetus. The icing on the cake is nice, but who wants to eat a bowlful of icing?
If certain administrators believe that Twenty20 cricket has the ability to stand on its own two feet, they are badly mistaken. It would survive for a while, only to implode.
The Ashes is the cornerstone of cricket.
The first 30 Test matches played were between Australia and England. Some of the greatest feats in world cricket has been produced in the cauldron which is Ashes cricket.
I’m talking about Jim Laker’s 19 wickets, Charles Bannerman’s 165 on debut, and Australia chasing down 404 at Headingley.
Could Australia’s lack of success at Twenty20 be connected in some way to the fact that they aren’t fully behind the concept? That to do well at it would only grant it further currency? That in some way, they are trying to protect Test cricket?
Who knows what is going to happen.
Whichever way you look at it, there are no obvious solutions. Just don’t look to the ICC for answers, because that is the last place you will find them.
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