Sab20/20 craze
January 8th 2007 08:06
The rise of 20/20 cricket is sure to continue throughout the cricketing world with the inaugural International championship to be played in South Africa in September. 20/20 is proving a success throughout the domestic competitions in Australia and England. However there is a worry that the popularity of this form could prompt the ICC to pollute the already crowded International calendar.
Tomorrow night’s Australia vs England contest will help kick off the one day series, following the much hyped Ashes contest. 20/20 cricket is fantastic entertainment for the fans, with constant sixes, great catches and non stop movement, which results in the match being over in three hours- which is convenient for everybody.
20/20 cricket is fantastic for domestic competitions, as they are in desperate need of assistance both financially and in exposure. Unfortunately in the sporting world, many supporters only attend the high profile matches, not the local or state leagues. Only twenty years ago the Sheffield Shield competition and the WAFL were marquee events in Western Australia. However the popularity of the Eagles, the Dockers and the whole AFL in general, has caused a drop off in WAFL attendances and exposure.
The media are also to blame in their disregard of the lower competitions, and in their obsession to hype up the AFL and the International cricket, just so they can earn themselves some extra revenue. Whatever has become of the Wildcats and the Glory? In the early 90s the wildcats were the biggest thing, but now are rarely mentioned anywhere in the media. The downfall of the Wildcats occurred in 1996, when Channel Ten pulled back their coverage of the games, which had been shown in prime time. Eventually the Wildcats disappeared off free to air, and thus forgotten in public consciousness. A similar story has developed with the Glory, who only 5 years ago were drawing record crowds to their matches. However with the drop off in support, the media has also dropped off the bandwagon.
The recent Ashes series was the most hyped series of all time but turned out to be an absolute fizzer. The Australian players reaction to their series win in Perth was way over top, considering they had only just lost the previous series in England, after 16 years of Ashes domination. This reaction was due to the hype generated mainly by the media.
The 20/20 competition is needed domestically, but not internationally. Ricky Ponting is correct when he says Australia should only play 1 game a year and a 4 yearly tournament. 20/20 matches are fantastic to start a series but too much will dilute the sport.
Tomorrow night’s Australia vs England contest will help kick off the one day series, following the much hyped Ashes contest. 20/20 cricket is fantastic entertainment for the fans, with constant sixes, great catches and non stop movement, which results in the match being over in three hours- which is convenient for everybody.
20/20 cricket is fantastic for domestic competitions, as they are in desperate need of assistance both financially and in exposure. Unfortunately in the sporting world, many supporters only attend the high profile matches, not the local or state leagues. Only twenty years ago the Sheffield Shield competition and the WAFL were marquee events in Western Australia. However the popularity of the Eagles, the Dockers and the whole AFL in general, has caused a drop off in WAFL attendances and exposure.
The media are also to blame in their disregard of the lower competitions, and in their obsession to hype up the AFL and the International cricket, just so they can earn themselves some extra revenue. Whatever has become of the Wildcats and the Glory? In the early 90s the wildcats were the biggest thing, but now are rarely mentioned anywhere in the media. The downfall of the Wildcats occurred in 1996, when Channel Ten pulled back their coverage of the games, which had been shown in prime time. Eventually the Wildcats disappeared off free to air, and thus forgotten in public consciousness. A similar story has developed with the Glory, who only 5 years ago were drawing record crowds to their matches. However with the drop off in support, the media has also dropped off the bandwagon.
The recent Ashes series was the most hyped series of all time but turned out to be an absolute fizzer. The Australian players reaction to their series win in Perth was way over top, considering they had only just lost the previous series in England, after 16 years of Ashes domination. This reaction was due to the hype generated mainly by the media.
The 20/20 competition is needed domestically, but not internationally. Ricky Ponting is correct when he says Australia should only play 1 game a year and a 4 yearly tournament. 20/20 matches are fantastic to start a series but too much will dilute the sport.
| 61 |
| Vote |
Subscribe to this blog
Comment by StephenP
NRL News
I agree that 20/20 does not really need to be played at International level, and should be limited to domestic cricket only. The crowds for 20/20 in English County Cricket are usually in excess of 20,000, and that is the figure that Cricket Australia should be aiming for for our domestic one day tournament.
Once we get spectators to our interstate one day matches, it should raise the profile of our domestic competitions. While we as a cricketing nation are sitting pretty at the top, this is where Cricket Australia needs to market our domestic competitions, so that the youngsters are encouraged to continue to play cricket.
20/20 in my view is great to watch, but it is so batsman orientated that we may see younger bowlers nbecome discouraged from plying their trade. Stop roping off the boundaries for starters, and make every player bowl at least one over - including the 'keeper. The longer boundaries may slow the scoring, but the scoring rate can accelerate when the batsman come onto bowl their gentle mediums or spin.
Cheers,
StephenP