Twenty20 cricket comes of age

When cricket historians look back in years to come they may well decide that 2009 was the year that the Twenty20 format came of age. They will say this was the year when the unruly offspring joined the accepted family of cricket’s formats.

Perhaps not regarded as the ultimate test of a team’s ability, that will surely always be the five-match five-day Test series, but still a valid and recognised method of sorting out the cricketing men from the boys.

Why 2009? You may ask. Well two reasons. First the IPL was moved from its natural home in India due to security reasons for its second season prompting a multitude of questions.

Could the organisers and the South Africans hosts put on the event at such short notice? Yes, they could. Would it be as exciting as the inaugural season? Yes. Would the passion of the crowds transfer to South Africa? Would the playing standards reach the same levels? Would the best in the world still be queuing up to appear? Yes, yes and yes.

But there was one important question that was answered no. Would it surpass and replace international cricket? Definitely not. That question was not so much answered by the IPL, but by the second ICC World Twenty20 that followed soon after.

This World Cup built upon the success of the first, held in South Africa in 2007, and has ensured that international Twenty20 is here to stay.

Even the most die-hard fans of the format may have feared the worst as the opening ceremony at Lord’s was reduced to a shambles by the rain with the Duke of Kent looking confused and the MCC members gone AWOL.

However, once The Netherlands had got the matches started with the shock scalp of England and Chris Gayle had put the Aussies to the sword the following day that was all forgotten about.

The World Cup was supposed to provide excitement. Check. We were supposed to see some powerful hitting with sixes galore. Check. We were supposed to see full houses of passionate fans. Check (even after the exits of England and India). The short form of the game was supposed to provide shocks. Check.

But, we also saw there was innovation with Tillakaratne Dilshan’s patented scoop shot or Angelo Matthews’ stunning mid-air saving of three runs over the boundary rope. We also saw strokeplay flourish amongst the power-hitters, Jacques Kallis being one of the players of the tournament and a key man in South Africa’s charge to the semis.

And we saw the bowlers hit back with vengeance. Until now Twenty20 has been undoubtedly a batsman’s game with limited overs, fielding restrictions and short boundaries encouraging big shots from powerful hitters.

This World Cup saw the importance of bowlers who could slow a run rate under pressure such as Muttiah Muralitharan or Shahid Afridi. Or take key wickets at any time during an innings like Umar Gul or Ajantha Mendis. (The four bowlers mentioned all play for the finalists, who both successfully defended a number of low totals to progress through the competition).

By the time the final rolled around even the stick-in-the-muds that populate the Lord’s pavilion looked like they might have woken up, both literally and metaphorically, to the joys of Twenty20.

So where does this leave the longer formats of the game. Does the brave new world of Twenty20 mean the end of Test match cricket?

In my humble opinion, absolutely not. As I said earlier in this piece the five-match five-day Test series will always remain the pinnacle of the game.

But, I feel that Adam Gilchrist (a fine exponent of all forms of the game) was right in his comments this week.

“To preserve Test cricket’s future - which we must - less is in fact more,” Gilchrist said.

“We should go back to the future when there were fewer Test matches, but a lot more important ones. And when the best cricketers of the day played closer to 50 Tests in their career, not 150.”

And the ICC are now debating an overhaul of cricket’s Future Tours Program, which could see more marquee Test series but many fewer Tests involving the minnow nations, which would open up more opportunities for the development of the Twenty20 game.

It should also be remembered that the innovations of Twenty20, the sense of what is possible on a cricket pitch feeds back into the five-day game. Ultimately, the players are becoming more skilful, the game more exciting and the standards even higher. This can only be good for cricket wherever and however it is played.

By Time Evershed, Twenty20Blog.co.uk