Twenty20 Musings

Comparing test match cricket with twenty20 cricket is a bit like comparing Jerry Seinfeld with Dawn French. Sure, both are comedians, both have their followers, but both appeal to different audiences. Twenty20 and test cricket are polar opposites.

Never have two variations of the same sport divided opinion so widely. Cricket purists pour scorn on Twenty20, condemning it as a made-for-TV slog-fest, devoid of any enviable qualities, such as strategy or patience.

However, sport is in a period of evolution where the necessity for big-money deals outweighs tradition. Cricket needs to grab a slice of the pie and Twenty20 consistently serves up thrilling action that appeals to a mainstream audience.

There is little doubt that the media world is to some extent dictating the direction in which the sport is driven. Viewers are no longer willing to endure hour after hour of subtle dabs to third man, waiting, occasionally in vain, for a match to explode into life. We need every shot to count, every ball to matter and, probably most important of all, every mistake to be costly. This entertains.

The Aussies were the first big-name to fall in this Twenty20 World Cup and Ricky Ponting was straight on the offensive. He has insisted that the team were fully prepared for the tournament and did not have - as many people in the press have insinuated – one eye on the Ashes series with England. It’s to be hoped not, because, if that is the case, Ponting needs to get with the times. Twenty20 cricket is in it for the slog.

Sage Advice

Hello and welcome to Sage Advice.

I'm Henry Sage and hopefully over the next few months I will be able to make you a profit with some decent betting opinion.

I will also be providing you with some of the most up to date and extensive sports coverage in the blogging sphere.

Looking forward to hearing your opinions.

Henry