A blog isn’t much use if it doesn’t get posted to, so consider the long delays a thing of the past.
I think one of the reasons I didn’t post much was because I was trying to avoid posting about things that people wouldn’t be interested in. Seeing as nobody reads this anyway, I may as well write about what I’m interested in. I think things will work much better this way. Don’t you?
The recent Twenty20 tournament in South Africa has raised a number of questions about the viability of the 50 over version of the game. After the rubbish World Cup (yes, it was too long, and it was about as ineptly run as possible – however there was still some good cricket played), the media has been as quick as possible to jump on the Twenty20 bandwagon and claim that it’s the future of the game.
All I can say is, I sure hope not!
Twenty over cricket is a bit of fun. It’s good to have a tournament like we just had, but it’s not really a test of character, which is what cricket is all about. In twenty overs, things can fall either way, and although that can be an appealing spectacle, it doesn’t really allow a team’s class and ability to show through.
What I like about 50 over cricket, and even more so, about 5 day cricket, is that teams have time to take control. A player, or a couple of players, have the opportunity to stamp some authority on the match. Games can be paced, and manipulated. Players have time to think and work to outwit their opponents. In the shorter version of the game, it’s all over in a flash. Yay for big hitting and slick fielding. Boo for taking something away from the players.
Another thing to keep in mind is that our league village cricket here in England, at least how I play it, is generally a limited overs style game (either 40 or 45 overs). We, too, play twenty over games but these are usually mid-week friendlies that give us a chance to have a hit and a bowl and a field and a laugh. They’re fun, but it’s not what the cricket is about. The Saturday and Sunday games where both teams have a chance to play is the meaningful cricket. Again, I love playing the friendlies, but the league games are important.
I don’t want to think that International Cricket will concentrate too much on a game that, in essence, is much like the friendly games I play.
The cricket I like watching is the fifty over game – similar to what I play as a village cricketer.
The cricket I love watching is the 5 day game – which is a test far above anything I face as a village cricketer.
If International Cricket is reduced to the same format as our friendly games, I think it will be a very great loss indeed.
