Posted by Survival of the fittest. Cricket has mutated again. While an early mutation, 50-over cricket, lives happily side-by-side with Test cricket, there aren’t enough natural resources to support both as well as Twenty20. In a few years time, one of these forms might have gone the way of the dodo.
If you can gain access to the rich nourishment provided by the Indian fan, you go a long way to ensuring your survival. With that in mind, India’s continued Twenty20 success should worry 50-over cricket greatly.
Having won the Twenty20 World Cup, India were on a high. However, almost immediately after that, they were fairly comprehensively beaten by Australia in a traditional one-day series. Black mark for one-day cricket, says the Indian fan. It does not bring joy.
But were they deserving World Champions in Twenty20? Yes, it would appear so, because reverting to that format, India win again, successfully chasing down Australia’s 166 with 11 balls to spare. Big tick and smiley face for Twenty20, says the Indian fan.
Maybe all three forms of cricket will live in harmony in a gargantuan fixture list littered with crossings-out, but if something does have to give, Twenty20’s starting to lay claim to a key resource.
Perhaps mutants could play 2020.
20/20 is the ADHD of the cricketing family. Younger players who find the demands of 50 overs all too taxing for their concentration and uncontrolled hyperactivity can be safely placed in twenty/20 teams so they will feel their place in society is justified. Ditto their fans.
Some, like Sreesanth, may need to start with Ten/10 in order to learn a little self-control first before they are allowed to join the bigger boys. Unfortunately, recent studies have shown that such players are unlikely to ever be able to meet the demands of playing with the men at Test level.
Where will it end? One over each? One ball each? Or maybe let’s just say whoever wins the toss is the winner?
The logical conclusion is to add even more ‘excitement’ by having the bowlers replaced by huge robots that can also transform into cars – let’s see how Yuvraj Singh likes that.
Mark Ramprakash would probably explode if this was attempted… so let’s try it.
and i thought it was the indians who were resistant to change