The many faces of Twenty20
In the Australian the columnists Patrick Smith and Mike Coward have different views on the growth of Twenty20
Sriram Veera
25-Feb-2013
In the Australian the columnists Patrick Smith and Mike Coward have different views on the growth of Twenty20. Smith is in favour of the development while Coward is horrified.
“There is room for all types of cricket and the sport must accommodate all of them,” Smith writes. “Twenty20's greatest strength is that it gives access to a new audience. It is attractive to families because it is done with in three hectic hours.”
Coward cannot believe how quickly things have changed.
The avarice and hypocrisy has been breathtaking. Players and governors are kowtowing before the god of mammon and thereby hurting and alienating the loyal shareholders ... Time and again the game's legislators have said the growth of Twenty20 cricket will not be achieved at the expense of the sanctity of Test match cricket.
Yet this week we learn that moves are afoot to revamp existing Test tour itineraries and redesign the future tours program to ensure the Indian Premier League can be held at a dedicated time every year. And the initiative has the blessing of Australia captain Ricky Ponting.
Greg Baum, of the Age, is not impressed either.
Gilchrist this week foresaw that the IPL would act as a kind of benefit for long-servers, hastening them into retirement and so opening up chances for younger players still motivated by Test dreams. It is a naive idea.
At World Series, at the time of the South African rebel tours, the talent followed the money. And this is a generation that has grown up expecting to make money from sporting gifts. Everyone loves TT — now. But remember basketball, the last sport that tarted itself up in tinsel and tassels, and dazzled momentarily, and was going to take over the world, and disappeared faster than you can say "de-fense"? Remember? Remember?
In the same paper, Tim Lane believes the IPL will "succeed or fail in India" and is not sure how the non-Indian followers of the game will take to it.
Sriram Veera is a former staff writer at ESPNcricinfo