Twenty/20 cricket has brought a lot to the cricketing world in both money and crowds. Crowds have been up both nationally and internationally across the world. The highlight crowd wise of the cricket season is always the twenty/20 games. On the first of February, 2008, a sell out crowd of 84,041 attended the match between Australia and India at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Another match on the ninth of January, 2006, was viewed by 38,894 people at the Gabba. This is the fourth biggest Gabba attendance ever.
Domestic cricket worldwide has really taken off as a result of twenty/20 cricket. Once rarely watched leagues are now back page news and new leagues are coming thick and fast. Australia’s twenty/20 domestic league the “KFC Twenty/20 Big Bash” is a big hit with families. On the twelfth of January, 2005, the Western Australia Warriors hosted the Victorian Bushrangers in the first twenty/20 match on Australian soil. An unprecedented sell out crowd of 20,700 flocked to the WACA to see a fast, entertaining match. The first domestic match at Lords, the most prestigious cricket ground in England, between Middlesex and Surrey drew a similar 26,500 . It was the biggest domestic crowd in England since 1953 (not including one day finals). But this is all just small fish compared to the things that are going on in India.
The IPL (Indian Premier League) after just two seasons is already one of the biggest sporting leagues in the world. The money being thrown around in that competition is phenomenal. The teams themselves were worth an average of $90 million. Chenai payed $1.65 million for Indian wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni for one season, which lasts for a total of just 56 days. Australian Andrew Symonds got payed $1.47 million for the same time period. This tournament is bringing a lot of money to India’s economy. Some say that if there wasn’t a salary cap on how much money each team can spend on players, cricketers would be getting payed more than soccer players.[FONT="] [/FONT]"If we hadn't done that, I can tell you that our players would already be the highest-paid across any sport in the world," IPL chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi said. Sony payed $4.12 billion to broadcast the IPL in India alone over ten years, while One HD payed between ten and fifteen million dollars to broadcast into Australia over five years.
West Indian cricket is also thriving due to twenty/20 cricket. On the 11th of July, 2006, the Stanford 20/20 league between regional West Indian teams offered prize money of $1 million to the winning team. The celebrations afterward showed how much this meant to the players and their families.
The first ever Champions League tournament has just reached its conclusion. The ICL brings together the best teams around the world and plays them against each other. The winning team, The New South Wales Blues, received $3 million. This is a lot of money to the players, who some will never even don the green and gold. This is the most money that has ever been offered at Australian state level cricket by a margin.
Twenty/20 domestic cricket is also seeing a number of international retired players making a comeback. Players like Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne and Glen McGrath have all made comebacks in the IPL, and without twenty/20 cricket this would not have been possible.
But with all of these domestic competitions being introduced, international cricket has not been reduced. This means that players wishing to play in the domestic leagues are faced with a very full schedule. This is increasing injury rate and some players are saying that their workload is too full. Players like Brett Lee are facing stress related injuries forcing them to sit on the sidelines. Twenty/20 cricket has really affected the domestic cricket scene bringing in more money and supporters.
There is a reason why twenty/20 cricket is bringing in so much money and support. It is a much more family orientated game when compared to test matches or even ‘one-dayers’. The game only runs for three hours compared to the eight hours of the other two codes. Twenty/20 encourages players to play big hits rather than play conservatively and many see this as more exciting. New rules are being introduced such as free hits and bowl offs (in case of a tie) which is making the game more of a spectacle. Twenty/20 is making cricket more exciting and bringing more people from all walks of life to the game.
Twenty/20 cricket is forcing players to use their imagination when playing shots. No longer are players relying on driving the ball (hitting the ball straight down the ground) or cutting and pulling the ball (hitting the ball square of the wicket) to get runs. While these shots are still used, more and more unorthodox shots are being introduced. Shots like the reverse sweep (flipping the bat around and paddling the ball behind the wicket) and the scoop (hitting the ball over the wicket keeper’s head) are now becoming regular cricket shots thanks to the introduction of twenty/20. This trend has had an effect on the up and coming cricketers in the juniors. Children are copying their heroes and playing these risky shots, a lot of the time unnecessarily.
Not only is twenty/20 changing the shots batsmen play, but it is also changing the equipment being used to play these shots. Cricketing brand Grey-Nicolls have developed a bat which enables players to hit the ball on both sides of the bat, rather than one side as with traditional cricket bats. The bat was first used by ex Australian Stuart Law in England’s county cricket. New South Wales player Dave Warner has also called the bat his own. Using the bat, he produced a man of the match performance scoring 65 including four sixes and seven fours. The bat, weighing between 2.8 and 2.10 pounds has a bigger handle then blade. It has taken into account the amount of Yorkers bowled in twenty/20s and made the toe of the bat thicker and more effective. The bats main advantage is the ability to hit the ball consistently off the back of the bat, so the batter can hit the ball cleaner and quicker behind the wicket. Twenty20 is changing the types of equipment used in cricket to suit the new shots being introduced.
Since the introduction of twenty/20 cricket, test and one day cricket, in most cases, have been made to take a backseat. Twenty/20 is quickly becoming the highlight of the summer with tickets selling much faster than the other forms. Not only is twenty/20 changing the way cricket is played in these forms, from the types of shots batsmen play and even the equipment that they use, but it is also changing the mindset of players. In years gone by, if a team was faced with a scenario where they had to score a lot of runs quickly, they would have found it impossible or gone for the draw if possible. But with scores of more than 200 being a chased down off 120 balls in twenty/20, we are seeing more and more teams take a offensive approach in tests or one dayers.
However, one day cricket faces a difficult and uncertain future. When it was introduced in the 1970’s, its main drawing point was that games get wrapped up in a day and you always get a result. People were attracted to it for its fast style game play. But these attributes and more are found in twenty/20. Test matches will never become extinct as they appeal to traditionalists and they are the original form of cricket but one day matches don’t seem have a spot. This is evident in 2008 when a crowd of just 38,858 showed up at the MCG for a final with old rivals England. Compare this to the 84,041 that turned up at the same venue just one year later to a twenty/20 between Australia and India or the one day international between India and Australia in early 2004 which drew 63,271, before twenty/20 internationals were around in Australia.
There has also been a push to bring Twenty/20 cricket into the Commonwealth Games. Twenty/20 is more suited to such an event over one day cricket and test cricket because these forms take too long to complete, which was evident in Malaysia 1998, the first and only time cricket has made an appearance at the event. Cricket is a sport that is mostly played within Commonwealth nations. Several high profile people are pushing for an inclusion into the Commonwealth Games. "The Commonwealth Games Federation is eager to have cricket back on the games schedule," said the federation’s president, Michael Fennell. Twenty/20 is bringing the potential to showcase the sport of cricket to the world.
Twenty/20 cricket is drastically changing the way people see cricket. For years, people have seen it as the slow, boring sport that can last five days and possibly not even achieve a result. But with the introduction of twenty/20, a lot of people are changing their views on cricket. As a result, crowds have been up and players are making much more money. New domestic leagues are being formed and old leagues are being given new lives. Twenty/20 has given cricket a chance to be seen on a worldwide scale at the Commonwealth Games. It is changing the way players play shots and the equipment they use to play them. It is not all good though, as it is now causing the demise of a once great power in one day cricket.
Domestic cricket worldwide has really taken off as a result of twenty/20 cricket. Once rarely watched leagues are now back page news and new leagues are coming thick and fast. Australia’s twenty/20 domestic league the “KFC Twenty/20 Big Bash” is a big hit with families. On the twelfth of January, 2005, the Western Australia Warriors hosted the Victorian Bushrangers in the first twenty/20 match on Australian soil. An unprecedented sell out crowd of 20,700 flocked to the WACA to see a fast, entertaining match. The first domestic match at Lords, the most prestigious cricket ground in England, between Middlesex and Surrey drew a similar 26,500 . It was the biggest domestic crowd in England since 1953 (not including one day finals). But this is all just small fish compared to the things that are going on in India.
The IPL (Indian Premier League) after just two seasons is already one of the biggest sporting leagues in the world. The money being thrown around in that competition is phenomenal. The teams themselves were worth an average of $90 million. Chenai payed $1.65 million for Indian wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni for one season, which lasts for a total of just 56 days. Australian Andrew Symonds got payed $1.47 million for the same time period. This tournament is bringing a lot of money to India’s economy. Some say that if there wasn’t a salary cap on how much money each team can spend on players, cricketers would be getting payed more than soccer players.[FONT="] [/FONT]"If we hadn't done that, I can tell you that our players would already be the highest-paid across any sport in the world," IPL chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi said. Sony payed $4.12 billion to broadcast the IPL in India alone over ten years, while One HD payed between ten and fifteen million dollars to broadcast into Australia over five years.
West Indian cricket is also thriving due to twenty/20 cricket. On the 11th of July, 2006, the Stanford 20/20 league between regional West Indian teams offered prize money of $1 million to the winning team. The celebrations afterward showed how much this meant to the players and their families.
The first ever Champions League tournament has just reached its conclusion. The ICL brings together the best teams around the world and plays them against each other. The winning team, The New South Wales Blues, received $3 million. This is a lot of money to the players, who some will never even don the green and gold. This is the most money that has ever been offered at Australian state level cricket by a margin.
Twenty/20 domestic cricket is also seeing a number of international retired players making a comeback. Players like Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne and Glen McGrath have all made comebacks in the IPL, and without twenty/20 cricket this would not have been possible.
But with all of these domestic competitions being introduced, international cricket has not been reduced. This means that players wishing to play in the domestic leagues are faced with a very full schedule. This is increasing injury rate and some players are saying that their workload is too full. Players like Brett Lee are facing stress related injuries forcing them to sit on the sidelines. Twenty/20 cricket has really affected the domestic cricket scene bringing in more money and supporters.
There is a reason why twenty/20 cricket is bringing in so much money and support. It is a much more family orientated game when compared to test matches or even ‘one-dayers’. The game only runs for three hours compared to the eight hours of the other two codes. Twenty/20 encourages players to play big hits rather than play conservatively and many see this as more exciting. New rules are being introduced such as free hits and bowl offs (in case of a tie) which is making the game more of a spectacle. Twenty/20 is making cricket more exciting and bringing more people from all walks of life to the game.
Twenty/20 cricket is forcing players to use their imagination when playing shots. No longer are players relying on driving the ball (hitting the ball straight down the ground) or cutting and pulling the ball (hitting the ball square of the wicket) to get runs. While these shots are still used, more and more unorthodox shots are being introduced. Shots like the reverse sweep (flipping the bat around and paddling the ball behind the wicket) and the scoop (hitting the ball over the wicket keeper’s head) are now becoming regular cricket shots thanks to the introduction of twenty/20. This trend has had an effect on the up and coming cricketers in the juniors. Children are copying their heroes and playing these risky shots, a lot of the time unnecessarily.
Not only is twenty/20 changing the shots batsmen play, but it is also changing the equipment being used to play these shots. Cricketing brand Grey-Nicolls have developed a bat which enables players to hit the ball on both sides of the bat, rather than one side as with traditional cricket bats. The bat was first used by ex Australian Stuart Law in England’s county cricket. New South Wales player Dave Warner has also called the bat his own. Using the bat, he produced a man of the match performance scoring 65 including four sixes and seven fours. The bat, weighing between 2.8 and 2.10 pounds has a bigger handle then blade. It has taken into account the amount of Yorkers bowled in twenty/20s and made the toe of the bat thicker and more effective. The bats main advantage is the ability to hit the ball consistently off the back of the bat, so the batter can hit the ball cleaner and quicker behind the wicket. Twenty20 is changing the types of equipment used in cricket to suit the new shots being introduced.
Since the introduction of twenty/20 cricket, test and one day cricket, in most cases, have been made to take a backseat. Twenty/20 is quickly becoming the highlight of the summer with tickets selling much faster than the other forms. Not only is twenty/20 changing the way cricket is played in these forms, from the types of shots batsmen play and even the equipment that they use, but it is also changing the mindset of players. In years gone by, if a team was faced with a scenario where they had to score a lot of runs quickly, they would have found it impossible or gone for the draw if possible. But with scores of more than 200 being a chased down off 120 balls in twenty/20, we are seeing more and more teams take a offensive approach in tests or one dayers.
However, one day cricket faces a difficult and uncertain future. When it was introduced in the 1970’s, its main drawing point was that games get wrapped up in a day and you always get a result. People were attracted to it for its fast style game play. But these attributes and more are found in twenty/20. Test matches will never become extinct as they appeal to traditionalists and they are the original form of cricket but one day matches don’t seem have a spot. This is evident in 2008 when a crowd of just 38,858 showed up at the MCG for a final with old rivals England. Compare this to the 84,041 that turned up at the same venue just one year later to a twenty/20 between Australia and India or the one day international between India and Australia in early 2004 which drew 63,271, before twenty/20 internationals were around in Australia.
There has also been a push to bring Twenty/20 cricket into the Commonwealth Games. Twenty/20 is more suited to such an event over one day cricket and test cricket because these forms take too long to complete, which was evident in Malaysia 1998, the first and only time cricket has made an appearance at the event. Cricket is a sport that is mostly played within Commonwealth nations. Several high profile people are pushing for an inclusion into the Commonwealth Games. "The Commonwealth Games Federation is eager to have cricket back on the games schedule," said the federation’s president, Michael Fennell. Twenty/20 is bringing the potential to showcase the sport of cricket to the world.
Twenty/20 cricket is drastically changing the way people see cricket. For years, people have seen it as the slow, boring sport that can last five days and possibly not even achieve a result. But with the introduction of twenty/20, a lot of people are changing their views on cricket. As a result, crowds have been up and players are making much more money. New domestic leagues are being formed and old leagues are being given new lives. Twenty/20 has given cricket a chance to be seen on a worldwide scale at the Commonwealth Games. It is changing the way players play shots and the equipment they use to play them. It is not all good though, as it is now causing the demise of a once great power in one day cricket.
Money talks, test cricket is dying. The shame.
