Roth Regatta

Cricket is such a unique game. It draws its uniqueness by being amenable to multiple cricketing formats be it test matches, ODI or its latest avatar the twenty 20 or t20 as it is more popularly known. One may think that Twenty20 isn’t proper cricket. But it has brought in newer audiences, revived interest in a flagging game and paved the way for a new, exciting and brash brand of cricket.

 Born in England as a method to bring crowds back in the domestic cricket, t20 has rapidly evolved and a

s per certain pundits threatens to overrun the traditions and the very fabric on which the game was built. But is it really all doomsday as the purists predict.

 That test cricket was on a downhill is pretty much acknowledged. ODIs weren’t faring much better as a result of benign pitches and its now predictable format. The cricket world cup in the carribean was a certified disaster. Huge monies were placed on the rights to telecast live cricket matches and when India and Pakistan crashed ou

t (together), we all know what catastrophe (at least to the sponsors) it caused.

Twenty20 will never win over a certain section of the cricket community, because it lacks the protracted ebb and flow provided by the Test match. But the capacity of 20-over cricket to make heroes of some and prize vegetables of others is surely a decent chunk of sport’s essence. IPL may be prone to hyperbole  but at least it still offer the sight of Shane Warne bowling to Sachin Tendulkar, Chris Gayle hitting s

ixes as noncahntly as ever.

 The IPL was a brainwave of Lalit Modi and it was a mind-boggling success, both financially (to the richest cricket board in the world) and cricketing wise. Cricket was suddenly more dynamic, matches more uncertain and competitive.  Following the rip-roaring success of the Indian Premier League, the Champions League 2009 aims to chart a new course in cricket history. Modeled on the hugely successful UEFA champions league format, it has top flight clubs competing against each other to determine the ultimate champion club. So it really doomsday as the purists predicts?

 After Andrew Flintoff’s comments, it is being increasingly thought that t20 would provide for freelancing cricketeers and end cricket as we know it. Personally I feel that cricket is very much based on national sentiments. Witness the frenzy that accompanies England during the ashes (which they have regularly lost) and the India-Pakistan cricket matches. The passion and the prestige for the cricketer are still undiminished. However Brendon McCullum has admitted that the lure of twenty20 cricket is irresistible. The league system and the relatively smaller pool of players as compared to soccer is going to create interesting debates in the future. How all these factors will impact international cricket is yet to be ascertained.

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