50 over cricket has been growing stale under the leadership of the ICC and it’s sub-continental powerbase for a long time, and never was this more evident than at the debacle that was the Cricket World Cup in the West Indies. What should have been the showpiece event was stripped of all character and then dragged on for far too long.
ODI’s have become predictable, formula driven and the consolidatory periods in the 15-40 over period is not giving the Gen Y crowd the constant stimulation they crave and get from competitors to the diet cricket format such as rugby, league, gayfl and soccer.
Crowd nazism from thought challenged security staff is reaching unprecedented levels and severely detracts from the experience. Light beer, outlawing of cameras with 10x zoom, petty restrictoins on bringing in soft drinks from sponsors’ competitors, evicting constructors of “beer snakes”, outlawing of the Mexican wave and criminalising trumpeters are hallmarks of the fun police.
Attempts at law changes have been drawn out and ill-conceived ; “Super”-sub’s and “Power”-play’s were a farcical attempt to Americanize [Sic] the ailing product. Australia’s complete and utter dominance of the format has done little to spark interest. The recent and rare 400+ games which have gone against the norm and provided dare I say, some entertainment.
The only remaining appeal is to executives who crave the bottom line boost from 8 hours of advertisments, predominately in India.
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Conversely, the T20 concept is fresh, innovating and exciting – all the things that ODI’s used to be. Perhaps this is due to the format being created in the UK, away from the greed and sub-continental influence of the ICC.
Some of the innovations really should have been bought into ODI’s long ago. The free hit is great and the distance measurement for biggest six makes for interesting viewing and facilitates nice highlights packages throughout the tournament, regardless of how dubious the actual measurement is..
I’m in favour of scrapping the pointless ODI tournaments in favour of T20 comps. Does anyone actually remember the results of last years three way series with the Poms and Kiwi’s? Is anyone honestly looking forward to the 7 match series we’re about to start in India? Surely they could have snuck a test in.
3 hours is a good span for an after work event with time for a few cleansing ales, and you never know, they might serve full strength beer! No doubt Cricket Australia will get their hooks into and suck the life out of it in the interest of “families”, so lets embrace it before they get a chance.
The concept of the champions trophy is brilliant, allowing state players to mix it on the International stage in their familiar state environment.
Baggy Green victories are not guaranteed in T20, and our losing to Zimbabwe provided a huge boost to the recent tournament. The fact that the team who play best on the day win is not the randomness that some journalists are suggesting, it’s a just reward for a diet format that with a standout performance from a few individuals a lesser ranked team can upset the giants. I might even get some decent odds betting on the Aussie juggernaut!
Of course test cricket is still the real deal, but if we must have a diet cricket format then I’d choose T20 any day. In terms of growing the game into new markets as well as getting more female supporters to the games. Is the Twenty20 here to stay? Most definately.
I gotta admit Moses that after first reading this I thought “nah, fuck-off, T20 is a crapshoot”, but then had to agree with pretty much everything you’ve outlined on what’s wrong with the current set-up.
However, if we go all out T20, I reckon the same boredom will eventually set in as the alicadoos find some way to over-flog it as they have the 50 overs game.
So how about this – why not connect them all up; tests, ODIs, T20s?
When India comes over, instead of separating the Tests and limited overs, make them all part of the same series. A win in the tests counts towards an over all series win, as does a T20 win – maybe there are fewer tests but they add more points? Maybe you can get bonus points for really thumping someone in a test but the other guys can make it up with all the popcorn games?
However, you’ve got to stick to the same limited squad throughout, in both tests and limited overs. No separate T20 team.
Anyway, once we’ve (Straya) stopped looking down our noses at the T20 game I reckon we’ll rip it apart as well.
As for the beer-snakes, I was at a one dayer here (poms vs India) in the ’summer’ (15 fucking degrees) and to the bewilderment of the well-behaved crowd, the security guys were all over these like a rash, even when only half a metre high. What’s wrong with cleaning up the plastic glasses?
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G’Day Matt,
Just a quick response for now as it’s halftime and the Fijian’s are still winning..
The problem with beer snakes is that they are venomous. Sure a single empty cup on it’s own probably wont kill you instantly, but combine them into a cluster and like the box jellyfish it’ll gain superpowers.
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T20 is still new and just as how Packer’s cricket circus infused new life into the game, T20 will also make it a tad more interesting. Remember not many have the time to watch 8 hours a day for 5 days or even 7 hours a day (50 over ODIs). But give it 2 seasons and this fad too shall pass. To make it really challenging (and interesting for the public), organizers should mix and match- a T20 to start the series, continue with a test, throw in 2 ODIs, another test, and then finish with a T20- all in a space of a month. Sort of a variation to Matt’s idea.
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