Twenty20 - this is the future !

Cricket, has come a long way today. What used to be a gentlemen’s game played between two sides, leisurely for 5 days, (and would often still end without a result!) has today been reduced to a three hour battle of skills, nerves and teamwork. Reduced, but only in the span of the playing time, and it has gained a significant lot in the bargain. Back in 1970’s The 5 day long test matches were shortened into one-dayers, which promised a lot more excitement, and most importantly - a result. It drew larger crowds, and gradually became the face of the game. But over the last decade, the game was becoming monotonous in its approach, and the little changes like the power-plays et all were unable to bring any more spark to this day long event. It was becoming predictable, with the Aussies ruling the roost for more than a decade on the trot.

There was a clear call for change, and as always, it came from the Home of Cricket – English county. Move over one-dayers, here comes the Twenty20. A reduced format of the one-day game; this one is a hell lot more exciting, challenging and dynamic. The signs were ominous right from the start that version 3.0 was going to be a hit. The first Twenty20 game held at Lord's in 2005 attracted a crowd of 26,500; the largest attendance for any county cricket game other than a one-day final since 1953. While still in its infancy; here are a few statistical highlights from the first world TWENTY20, currently being held in South Africa.

• Highest team score: 260/6, by Sri Lanka against Kenya. (13 runs on an average per over)
• Highest win margin: 10 wickets, Aus Vs SL (58 balls remaining. It got over real fast.)
• Fastest half-century: 12 balls, by Yuvraj Singh. ( Are you kidding me ?)
• Fastest century: 50 balls, by Chris Gayle. (That had 10 mighty sixes in it.)
• Highest number of runs scored off an over: 36, by Yuvraj Singh (6 out of 6)
• Highest number of sixes hit in a team innings: 14, Australia against England.
• Biggest six: 119 meters, by Yuvraj Singh. (That went some distance !)
• And we’ve already witnessed the first hat-trick. Brett Lee, for Australia against Bangladesh.
  

Add to this, the fireworks in the stadium, cheer leaders dancing to fours and sixes, and what you get is a 3 hour fanfare for every spectator on the ground. Clearly this third generation of cricket offers all that was missing in the earlier two formats. No wonder it is drawing some of the biggest crowds ever witnessed in the history of South African cricket. As the first edition of the ICC world Twenty20 moves into the finals today, it’s INDIA Vs PAKISTAN. The biggest rivalry of cricket in modern times, it doesn’t get bigger than this. Call it coincidence, but the fact is that these two countries support more than 85% of the worldwide cricket viewership and revenue. Here it’s not a sport, it’s a religion!! (A big factor to the dismal viewership of the Caribbean World cup was the early exit of both these teams.)

In a short span of two years, this format has tumbled a lot of records, (both on the field and off it). Viewership (& game follow-ups) is the most important factor for the stability of any sport, and if the recently published TRP’s of TAM, for the ongoing ICC World Twenty20, are any indications, this format is here to stay for a long time. A direct impact is that the advertizing rates have scaled newer height, and this tournament has drawn the best advertizing revenues, considering the recent past. Even the betting market is hot, and the bookies are left with little choice, but to upgrade their systems to match the fast pace of the game. Unlike one-dayers, here the odds change with every ball, every shot, every wicket, and that too considerably. (The bookies ain’t complaining tough, they’ll gladly do the needful.) But the biggest factor of all, for me is that it has brought the spectators back to the stadium.

I think while it keeps selling around, and keeps entertaining the spectators with their presence at cricket matches, it means Twenty20 will be very successful and will gain a lot of popularity. The players like it, the spectators like it, the bookies like it, and I think it is here to stay at the moment. But it is important that we keep it in the box that it's in. Its fun, and that is what cricket should be, and if gets another generation of cricketers (young people), through to watch, then it is the best thing that can happen to cricket.