International Cricket: Getting T20 right and saving Test Cricket

The recently concluded Twenty20 was very successful and absolutely entertaining for all who watched. The players enjoyed as well because the amount of time they were out playing was less than that of which they spend training each day. Many questions were raised after T20's success. Will T20 take the Place of One Day Cricket?

To most, if not all fans of cricket, the sport appears to be in disarray. While the number of fans for the sport might appear to be large, the truth is that Cricket is the top sport only in the subcontinent. With the success of Twenty20, it seems that it makes complete sense to play more Twenty20 rather than continue with One Dayers and Tests. My view on this though is that it will hurt the game.

Test cricket was the only way to go for cricket until the 1970s. For nearly a century cricket fans got to watch only the longer version of the game. For most of this time the Tests were timeless Tests. People though still came out to watch cricket in those days. Weather was a major problem in test matches. With matches played over a few days, fans did not know what to expect from a Test which was delayed due to weather and soon Test cricket began to look unattractive to fans. Younger fans that had busy schedules particularly lost interest in Test cricket. In the 1960s, count teams began a 65 overs a side tournament. While many fans of older generation did not like the idea, younger fans were beginning to like the idea. However the game's organizers did not want to take a risk in staging the shorter match between two International sides. In 1970 however, cricket saw its first even Limited Overs International match when a Test match at the MCG in 1971 was delayed by weather during the first 4 days of the Test. The sides needed to get some cricket in and decided that the last day would be played out with limited overs per side. This match turned out to be a huge success and what happened in the decades to follow is significant with the way the ICC must deal with Twenty20.

The first world cup was staged in 1975, four years after the first LOI was played and has since become a huge success. The game has suffered during this time though. Test cricket has had fewer followers and the amount of One Day cricket being played is too much of many fans liking. The game has become more about money. After Hansie Cronje, one of the greatest captains cricket had ever seen, took bribes in 2000 to lose a One Day Series in India, the game lost many fans. Many of my own friends who thoroughly enjoyed playing and watching cricket lost interest in the game as many great players in India and Pakistan were handed bans ranging from 5 years to life. The biggest blows were Salim Malik and Mohammad Azharuddin, both of whom, at the end of such illustrious careers, deserved a better exit.

The ICC however did not see this as a sign of things to come. In an attempt to generate more revenue for Global expansion, the ICC in 1998 came up with the Champions trophy. With the first two editions of the tournament in '98 and 2000 being knockouts, cricket fans enjoyed every moment of every match as each match a "win or go home" scenario. What drew fans to cricket in the 90s however were the Sharjah One Day tournaments. Instead of attempting to make deals for more Sharjah Cups since 2000, the ICC decided to change to change the format of the Champions trophy and the World Cup. The ICC also did nothing to control the number of matches being played between countries and in the end One Day Cricket suffered. The ICC went with the idea that there is never too much of a good thing. By the time the 2007 World Cup came around, fans had seen too many One Dayers played and the crowds were beginning to stay away from matches. The ICC needed to take control and stop allowing countries to play 7 match series. They need to have a balance. Limiting

The ICC this time has finally used some common sense in dealing with Twenty20s. After a miserable World Cup in the Caribbean, the ICC was saved by a brilliantly organized World Twenty20. Fans around the World began to show more interest in cricket. However the ICC has handled this success well. They have not allowed any boards to increase the number of Twenty20s that are staged annually. The Limit still stands at 7 T20 Internationals a year and the ICC should keep it that way. If the ICC allows international teams to stage more Twenty20s, the younger generations will learn to play cricket with luck rather than individual skills. This will make eliminate key elements of captaincy and cricketers will bowl balls and play shots with no real purpose.

While many fans may feel that Test cricket is beyond saving I feel that it is not. What national boards need to do is to get the Youngsters involved in Test cricket. When India made their historic Tour of Pakistan in 2004, the Test matches were watched only by a few dozen fans. While seats remained empty, children who could not afford to buy tickets to matches were trying to sneak into the stadium. Cricket Boards need to work with schools and different communities to allow for large groups of children to watch matches. This is one of the ways in which Test Cricket can be revived. Young children will pick up any sport quickly and by taking them to Test matches, they will learn to appreciate Test cricket at a very young age. This is something which has been done in England where young fans get to watch the 4th day of a Test for a discounted rate and the 5th day at no cost. This has been the practice for years in England and is one of the reasons why people still watch cricket in England despite the National side not winning consistently.

When Test cricket is revived however, the ICC should not get carried away. They need to have fewer 4 and 5 Test series. While Ashes fans may not like this I think that the ICC should slowly make it standard practice for nations to play only 3-Test series and no more than one 2-Test series annually. Nations like Bangladesh constantly suffer because they are always stuck with 2 match series, end up with no practice and hence gain little experience. This will also allow for more recovery time for cricketers between matches.

Whether the ICC will stick to its 7 T20s per year rule is something that fans will have to wait and see. For the sake of saving the sport, we can only hope that this time the ICC has learned from its mistakes with One Dayers and will not commit the same mistakes again.