Big 'up' to creators ofTwenty20 Cricket Matches- it's here to stay

Big 'up' to creators ofTwenty20 Cricket Matches- it's here to stay

September 06, 2007 Edition 2

IS there a place for three versions of the game? Of course there is!

Not only a place, but a comfortable place where each can thrive and support the other, attracting new fans and growing cricket's global support base.

Just as 60- and then 50- and 40-overs cricket was regarded as a threat to Test cricket 30 and 20 years ago, Twenty20 cricket is a threat to neither the 50-overs game nor the five-day version. It is different - and I mean different enough to survive and flourish in its own space.

I believe the T20 world championship will attract brand new audiences who may very well progress to watching ODI and then Test cricket in their quest to see the "real" thing.

In Test cricket you can take a whole session, two hours, to regroup and recover after a few quick wickets. In ODI cricket you can still afford an hour or so to regroup. In 20-overs cricket you might allow yourself 15 minutes! The game can be won and lost in two or three overs, it's that intense.

Every ball, barring the first over, perhaps, is an event in itself.

A boundary is always an "event", but so is a dot ball. In fact, a bowler delivering a ball which isn't scored off in the final five overs is as good as a batsman hitting a four - and possibly harder to achieve.

But batting teams still need partnerships and those that try to slog from the second over often find themselves on 60/6 after seven overs with the game as good as lost. Instead of thinking "our target for the next 10 overs is", the batsmen have to think "our target for the next 10 balls is".

I played for Gloucestershire in 2003 after my international retirement and it was the first season of 20-overs cricket. I loved it!

Apart from the batting, the fielding aspect was a revelation. I stood at backward point for the first two or three overs of our first game and then thought "stuff this, I want the action".
Batsmen try to hit boundaries and that's where the better fieldsmen need to be.

I would rather be at deep square leg than backward point, but - depending on who's bowling - the most important positions can be long on, long off or sweeping on the cover boundary. Even third man, so often a resting place for fast bowlers, can be more important than backward point.

It all depends on the batsman and where he prefers to score. Research is critical.

AB de Villiers, JP Duminy and, of course, Herschelle will be crucial in the field. It's not just the strength of the arm, but speed across the ground. Saving boundaries in this form of the game is the equivalent of saving singles in 50-overs cricket, which means your fast bowlers have to do their bit at backward point. Good luck, Makhaya!

The "sexy" shots have their place, of course, but not at the expense of normal cricket shots. There's no point in playing the "reverse slog" if you haven't practised it regularly. The "flick" over the 'keeper's head can be a productive innovation - provided you get it right . Otherwise you'll be spitting teeth and bits of lip out on the pitch.

When Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els contest a championship over four rounds, nobody has much doubt about the winner. But imagine if they played for the grand prize over nine holes! It's hell or glory - you go for everything.

Take the best surfers in the world and tell them they have only three waves each to impress the judges. Roger Federer against Rafael Nadal, in one set!

All the intensity of a full-length contest compressed into a quarter or half the time. Beautiful!

The T20 is absolutely brilliant in its context - big, big "up" to those who saw its potential and made it happen around the world. Enjoy

------Cape Times, South Africa