I have different thoughts about this, and I am looking at it from a different angle to.
As far as players skill (out of the top 12 or so cricket nations) goes, yes I agree, Twenty20 isn't going to make it better. Having said that, outside the top 12 (Australia all the way down to Zimbabwe, Kenya & Ireland) countries, I'd say spectator interest in cricket is pretty low.
Twenty20 WILL DRAW IN CROWDS in these non-cricketing countries. Four day matches will not, as to someone who has never watched cricket and can't appreciate it, it is simply too slow. Twenty20 only takes 3 hours, like most other sports, therefore people will (or should not) lose interest.
My thoughts, are that Twenty20 SHOULD be used for globalisation. How? Have a Twenty20 World Cup. But don't include the top nations. Include the, say, nations numbers 10 to 20.
When interest in these countries rises, they then move on to playing ODI's, and maybe even Test's down the track.
But Twenty20 must be used to promote cricket. Once there is a strong supporter base, then perhaps you can start refining the skills and moving on to First Class cricket.
|