T20 format - a critical Analysis

With India playing Pakistan for top honours at the Twenty20 World Cup finals in a few hours, this post does risk being criticised, but in the end it is just a matter of opinion and one that I can back with facts.

When it comes to cricket I have always been a purist - in the way I have played and in the way I have followed the game. I must admit that the Twenty20 cricket World Cup has me in a confused state. A format that will never get a purists nod, it is tremendously entertaining to watch. I am torn between being a spectator watching cricket for entertainment and a cricket analyst, trying to analyse where the game is going.

Twenty20 cricket, with its short game time, the ever changing balance of the game and the huge sixers - is very good entertainment, but the effect it will have on international cricket, in my opinion, will not be good for the game, like it known from a century ago.

Cricket coaching manuals will be rewritten when T20 cricket gets popular (are they already being rewritten). I remember being taught the basics of cricket - Place your feet close to your bat, hold the bat with a lose bottom hand and play along the ground. These basics no longer hold true in T20 cricket. The front foot comes out to the legside creating width and the bottom hand is the most prominet hand, and the ball is played more in the air than it is on the ground. Some shots are even quite similar to those seen in a Federer vs Nadal match. The crowd needs catching practise and they also need helmets.

Spinners are a rare breed anyway and T20 goes one more step and makes them near extinct. New Zealand is the only team that has played 2 specialist spinners in Vettori and Jeetan Patel, India played one in Harbhajan, while Australia, South Africa, West Indies, and even Sri Lanka played without a specialist spinner. Even the spinners who did play - Vettori, Harbhajan, Jeetan patel, Afridi were all bowling flat and even bowled a fair few yorkers. The Prasannas and Bedis will be disappointed to see the demise of flight, which is the essence of spin bowling, in this version of the game.

The most elegant of shots and the ones that got the cheers from the crowds used to be the classic cover drives, the on drives, the late cuts and the flicks and glances. But with this version, the slog over Cow-Corner, the reverse sweep, the top edge over the wicketkeeper and the hoick into no mans land is what is attracting not only the cheers from the crowds, but also the dance moves from the cheerleaders and the music from the DJs. "Pacing an innings" is another phrase that will lose its importance.

As this version of the game gets more popular, it is natural for cricketers to want to play this vesion more than the others and it is in this that ODI and Test cricket stand to lose. You will see young players trying to emulate yuvrajs murderous slogs over Cow-Corner rather than getting the basics right. The influence of T20 cricket will rub into the older forms of the game and I expect to see that straight after this World Cup is over.

With the governing body showing a clear intent to put its mouth where the money is, T20 cricket is definitely the way forward and I cant see how this will not impact mainstream cricket - Tests and ODIs.

All said and done, Its the finals of eth World Cup and what better than an India vs Pakistan clash. I am going to wear my "spectator" hat and enjoy the spectacle. may the best team (read India) win!!!!!