The toddler years of Twenty20 signals the death of 50-over cricket

Twenty20 / Paul Moon / 17 June 2008 / 1 Comments

Pablo Luna - Moonlighting for Betfair. Pablo considers how many years the 50-over game still has left in it and wonders whether it will be missed if it stops being played

Our dreadful county and very ordinary 50-over game has been allowed to go stale like last week's bread. Cricketing bodies have sat on their hands complacently. Lack of foresight, effort and dogma has contributed greatly to its downfall. The game has not been packaged, sold or improved to the general public and is suffering dire and ominous consequences.

With the advent of Twenty20 there has been an injection of energy and excitement unprecedented in the game of cricket! This game is played to full houses and to all age groups. There is a voracious appetite to consume all things Twenty20, not just with the public but the players, sponsors, advertising and TV companies. I remain unconvinced whether this 'slogfest' is true sport but accept its rightful place in cricket. It now demands time in the cricketing calendar and threatens to proliferate.

It has not replaced the 50-over game it has swallowed it up, digested the good ingredients and spat out the turgid and stagnant remains! Kevin Pietersen is worried that Twenty20 might replace 50-over cricket, I have news for him - it already has! The first nails are already in the coffin and the eulogy written.

The last ODI World Cup in the West Indies was an embarrassing fiasco on many fronts where it attempted its own suicide. The disgruntled public looked away in dismay before voting with their feet. I give this format less than five years before it dissolves then disappear! It should have evolved.

Some people will mourn its passing but then some cricket folk, particular those gin and tonic brigades that hold sway at the Marylebone Cricket Club and the ECB, always resist change whether it is good or bad. They just dislike the word change.

I will shed no tears on its demise but wonder nervously on the ramifications of Twenty20. Will we have two types of cricketer? Will we lose authentic shot selection by authentic batsmen? Will we lose fast bowling? Will the public gorge on fast food cricket and lose their appetite for cordon bleu? I pray not! Cricketing bodies have a lot to answer for.

It will not be the end of the world, the 40-over game made way for that version. We have to put game of cricket first and if Twenty20 helps finance and secure Test cricket then so be it. In any case you cannot stop evolution or dispute the market place.

Comments (1)

1. Ashwin | 17 June 2008

   I think 50 Over cricket will survive for a long long time. Then there is the Pro - 40, and in Kenya they play a 45 Over league. In essence the longer formats will survive, but T20 may just become the showcase event.