'Its just not cricket', is a phrase used at times to indicate something thats not correct or not done properly or against the norms. But cricket being a game which constantly reinvents itself ,at times this phrase is even used by folks at a newer variant of the game which has suddenly become popular and threatens the more traditional variety. It was used against One Day cricket when it really emerged with colored clothes and day night games. More recently it has been used against the T20 format which crunched the game even further for this generation with ADD.
I had been part of those skeptics who viewed this new format with mild amusement and felt this probably wont amount to anything as we had two well established formats the Test cricket for the real aficionados and the shorter variant for general public/ mass consumption. Things did seem to be going well for the game in India at least so why experiment again we all thought. Some of the previous experiments like 'Max cricket' , six a side cricket etc never clicked.
The 2007 T20 WC indeed won many of us over, the tournament worked but mainly because India won! But I think for many of us it took entire IPL season 1 to truly understand what T20 cricket is and to have an opinion which most of us formed and discussed and debated ad nauseam. Long story short, T20 arrived and it was here to stay and stay it did as we roll into IPL 9
I would easily fall into the category of cricket buffs who love watching any decently competitive game of cricket. I eagerly look forward to international matches and its not just about my favorite team and like most folks of my ilk have huge reverence for Test match cricket. I follow through the score card and news reports most of the test match action that happens across the world and remain aware of the key events and players globally. The interest wanes further for other forms of cricket and what I state could be true for most of the keen followers of the game. We all love the drama and slow folding action of Test matches and nothing really comes near that for sure. So leaving that format out of discussion.
As a kid I had started watching cricket since 91 and it was ODI cricket which first really pulled me into this game with the tri-series and WC down under in 92. During childhood it was easy to watch any form of cricket but as you got older watching Test cricket was pretty tough unless on weekends but ODIs with Day/Night games was easier to catch on TV. Most of 90s and until late 2000s there was not much to compete with cricket viewing and cricket being a sport with so many breaks was easy to follow unlike something like Football. As time progressed ODIs for me got a bit harder to watch as other interesting things started coming up! Ofcourse I did watch most of the important matches but slowly reducing my viewing time to first 10 overs and then the final 15 overs and nothing much happened in those boring middle overs.
Again the game didn't change much, the middle overs were the same boring middle overs or consolidation phase of the game which always existed. Its just the mind set of the viewers changed. Faced with several other things to do in our lives and several other entertainment options available the 'boring middle overs' started losing out to other options in tv remote control or internet browser. For most folks in modern world who are not having ginormous amount of free time watching an entire ODI was out of question. Basically we would try to catch first 10 overs before mom/wife starts getting annoyed and starts assigning some random errands. Usually the starting phase of the match is exempt as something is always 'happening'. Same goes for the death overs as something seems to be happening always you are less likely to be disturbed and allowed to watch the ending. So basically you end up watching like 20-25 overs of an ODI and we had sort of made peace with that
T20 as a format has taken some time to evolve, for teams to really figure out what exactly they need to do and over last few years it seems to have settled into a steady flow. There are bound to be good and bad effects which will impact other forms of the game and the game overall will change for sure. Does it provide good balance for bat and ball? No.
Is this something which aesthetically pleasing (like watching Roger Federer in full flow)? Of course No.
But is it cricket? Surely yes.
Does it get over in 3 hours? Oh yeah.
Is it possible to actually watch the entire action, given our regular schedules? Oh yeah
All of these factors did play role in me deciding that ODI cricket is just not worth the time and energy and I have really been wishing that people cut down on what I think are meaningless bi-lateral ODI series and instead just play t20s and get over with it sooner and spend more time playing Test cricket. I think its a given that game cannot survive or sustain interest without catering to masses so we need Shorter variant of the game, and my vote goes to T20 for that.
In many social forums I interact with friends and other fellows, I have controversially harped on scrapping or scaling down ODI cricket and instead packing international calender with more T20s and Test cricket instead. I have faced huge opposition at first, but now the volume of protests have come down perhaps because the same folks have argued the same points several times now or because folks arguing for ODIs are getting tired of defending it
Now ODI WC is something that I really enjoy and I dont think anything T20 throws at it can quite match the appeal or the place in our heart that ODI WC holds. Despite my grudges against the format I think ODI WC is quite special and is the only reason why I dont want the format scrapped. Again that is because that is the only ODI tournament/series which has some context or relevance which the bi-lateral series just doesn't have
Now for the main topic which prompted all this cud chewing on limited overs cricket - the recent T20 WC... maybe its because its pretty fresh in mind but the recent tournament was something that I enjoyed highly. I did watch almost all matches despite the tournament happening in early morning time for me and felt this was a very 'open' World cup unlike the 50 over one in which the odds invariably favored 2-3 nations. Most of the matches were close which is perhaps because of the very nature of this format where almost all contests stretch into final over and no one is truly out of the game until the very end.
We have very active college whatsapp group among some of my friends in which 90% of discussion is on cricket and recently we again had a rerun of ODI vs t20 and several folks begged a few of us to stop discussing this again and again. With the recent experience of following 2 major T20 events, I thought I will jot down a list of things which make the format work for me as a viewer/fan who is keen to 'watch'/'follow' entire live sporting action.
1. It sort of respects my time and doesn't assume I have 9-10 hours of free time to park my butt on an uncomfortable seat in the stadium or even my more comfortable couch for TV viewing. Its the usual argument that the game is just about 3-3.5 hours for a t20 match is about the time taken for almost all major spectator friendly sporting events - think Football, Tennis, F1, Soccer
2.The other redeeming factor for pushing for this format was the sheer closeness of the matches because of the format. Lesser the overs closer it gets but if the number of overs become too less its not a match it becomes a farce and I think at this point 20 overs seems to strike the right balance
3.There was a fear that the format would be bowler's graveyard and they would just give up altogether and audience just want to watch 20 over chases of 200+ scores. The recent 2 tournaments in Asia were not quite that way. The pitches were not highways and bowlers who have done their share of innovation came to party with several smart weapons to counter batsmen. So if there is will to have regular size grounds and pitches with some life in it even in this format there can be a good contest between bat and ball
4.As a common man viewing the game, there is a greater sense of identification for masses as this format is pretty close to the game we play on streets and maidans. You dont need to be super talented,skilled to make your mark and an average player can still have his day and pull it off for this team. The success of journeymen cricketers in IPL like Bisla, Valthathy, Jakati, Tambe etc is a good example of how it allows folks with basic abilities to have their days under sun as well with positive intent and huge amount of luck as well. Who doesn't love an underdog!
5. I did watch quite a few matches played by associate nations and the gap between them and established nations are narrowing but no format gives them such a good chance to pull off upsets and stay competitive as T20. It seems to be fairly obvious that if cricket wants to move beyond the 10-12 nations where it commands a good following then T20 is the way to go. The good run by Afgans and managing to pull off a stunning win over the eventual champions in the recent world cup is case in point. The qualifier felt like cheating but the number of mismatches have come down drastically and this format represents the only chance for game to expand to a real 16 nation or beyond competitive WC
6. Really good players will still rock this format. Think Virat Kohli, Joe Root, Md Amir, enough said!
7. Cricket is a game which takes stats and records seriously. A bit too seriously! No I'm not going to encourage any discussion on my fav batsman Sachin ;) There has been lot of debate on whether players slow down when reaching milestones like 50, 100 and yeah 200 etc. There is huge obsession over landmarks, average etc The number of 100s a batsman has and making a 100 was something that ODI inherited from Test cricket, but t20 is a format where people just care about scoring and atleast as of now milestones don't seem to matter as much as other formats and run scoring and delivering for team when needed seems to be even more crucial factor than sheer volume of runs or wickets
8. t20 is the only format which can make leagues like IPL, Big-bash, Ram-slam work and makes it possible for cricket loving folks to get more and more cricket on tv during summer
So thank you T20 for giving some sort of cricketing action throughout the summer, I didnt watch last IPL but this time thanks to Asia cup and WC I'm all enthused despite the fact that my fav IPL team is no longer around. Hoping to get a few hours of regular good cricketing action throughout the summer
I had been part of those skeptics who viewed this new format with mild amusement and felt this probably wont amount to anything as we had two well established formats the Test cricket for the real aficionados and the shorter variant for general public/ mass consumption. Things did seem to be going well for the game in India at least so why experiment again we all thought. Some of the previous experiments like 'Max cricket' , six a side cricket etc never clicked.
The 2007 T20 WC indeed won many of us over, the tournament worked but mainly because India won! But I think for many of us it took entire IPL season 1 to truly understand what T20 cricket is and to have an opinion which most of us formed and discussed and debated ad nauseam. Long story short, T20 arrived and it was here to stay and stay it did as we roll into IPL 9
I would easily fall into the category of cricket buffs who love watching any decently competitive game of cricket. I eagerly look forward to international matches and its not just about my favorite team and like most folks of my ilk have huge reverence for Test match cricket. I follow through the score card and news reports most of the test match action that happens across the world and remain aware of the key events and players globally. The interest wanes further for other forms of cricket and what I state could be true for most of the keen followers of the game. We all love the drama and slow folding action of Test matches and nothing really comes near that for sure. So leaving that format out of discussion.
As a kid I had started watching cricket since 91 and it was ODI cricket which first really pulled me into this game with the tri-series and WC down under in 92. During childhood it was easy to watch any form of cricket but as you got older watching Test cricket was pretty tough unless on weekends but ODIs with Day/Night games was easier to catch on TV. Most of 90s and until late 2000s there was not much to compete with cricket viewing and cricket being a sport with so many breaks was easy to follow unlike something like Football. As time progressed ODIs for me got a bit harder to watch as other interesting things started coming up! Ofcourse I did watch most of the important matches but slowly reducing my viewing time to first 10 overs and then the final 15 overs and nothing much happened in those boring middle overs.
Again the game didn't change much, the middle overs were the same boring middle overs or consolidation phase of the game which always existed. Its just the mind set of the viewers changed. Faced with several other things to do in our lives and several other entertainment options available the 'boring middle overs' started losing out to other options in tv remote control or internet browser. For most folks in modern world who are not having ginormous amount of free time watching an entire ODI was out of question. Basically we would try to catch first 10 overs before mom/wife starts getting annoyed and starts assigning some random errands. Usually the starting phase of the match is exempt as something is always 'happening'. Same goes for the death overs as something seems to be happening always you are less likely to be disturbed and allowed to watch the ending. So basically you end up watching like 20-25 overs of an ODI and we had sort of made peace with that
T20 as a format has taken some time to evolve, for teams to really figure out what exactly they need to do and over last few years it seems to have settled into a steady flow. There are bound to be good and bad effects which will impact other forms of the game and the game overall will change for sure. Does it provide good balance for bat and ball? No.
Is this something which aesthetically pleasing (like watching Roger Federer in full flow)? Of course No.
But is it cricket? Surely yes.
Does it get over in 3 hours? Oh yeah.
Is it possible to actually watch the entire action, given our regular schedules? Oh yeah
All of these factors did play role in me deciding that ODI cricket is just not worth the time and energy and I have really been wishing that people cut down on what I think are meaningless bi-lateral ODI series and instead just play t20s and get over with it sooner and spend more time playing Test cricket. I think its a given that game cannot survive or sustain interest without catering to masses so we need Shorter variant of the game, and my vote goes to T20 for that.
In many social forums I interact with friends and other fellows, I have controversially harped on scrapping or scaling down ODI cricket and instead packing international calender with more T20s and Test cricket instead. I have faced huge opposition at first, but now the volume of protests have come down perhaps because the same folks have argued the same points several times now or because folks arguing for ODIs are getting tired of defending it
Now ODI WC is something that I really enjoy and I dont think anything T20 throws at it can quite match the appeal or the place in our heart that ODI WC holds. Despite my grudges against the format I think ODI WC is quite special and is the only reason why I dont want the format scrapped. Again that is because that is the only ODI tournament/series which has some context or relevance which the bi-lateral series just doesn't have
Now for the main topic which prompted all this cud chewing on limited overs cricket - the recent T20 WC... maybe its because its pretty fresh in mind but the recent tournament was something that I enjoyed highly. I did watch almost all matches despite the tournament happening in early morning time for me and felt this was a very 'open' World cup unlike the 50 over one in which the odds invariably favored 2-3 nations. Most of the matches were close which is perhaps because of the very nature of this format where almost all contests stretch into final over and no one is truly out of the game until the very end.
We have very active college whatsapp group among some of my friends in which 90% of discussion is on cricket and recently we again had a rerun of ODI vs t20 and several folks begged a few of us to stop discussing this again and again. With the recent experience of following 2 major T20 events, I thought I will jot down a list of things which make the format work for me as a viewer/fan who is keen to 'watch'/'follow' entire live sporting action.
1. It sort of respects my time and doesn't assume I have 9-10 hours of free time to park my butt on an uncomfortable seat in the stadium or even my more comfortable couch for TV viewing. Its the usual argument that the game is just about 3-3.5 hours for a t20 match is about the time taken for almost all major spectator friendly sporting events - think Football, Tennis, F1, Soccer
2.The other redeeming factor for pushing for this format was the sheer closeness of the matches because of the format. Lesser the overs closer it gets but if the number of overs become too less its not a match it becomes a farce and I think at this point 20 overs seems to strike the right balance
3.There was a fear that the format would be bowler's graveyard and they would just give up altogether and audience just want to watch 20 over chases of 200+ scores. The recent 2 tournaments in Asia were not quite that way. The pitches were not highways and bowlers who have done their share of innovation came to party with several smart weapons to counter batsmen. So if there is will to have regular size grounds and pitches with some life in it even in this format there can be a good contest between bat and ball
4.As a common man viewing the game, there is a greater sense of identification for masses as this format is pretty close to the game we play on streets and maidans. You dont need to be super talented,skilled to make your mark and an average player can still have his day and pull it off for this team. The success of journeymen cricketers in IPL like Bisla, Valthathy, Jakati, Tambe etc is a good example of how it allows folks with basic abilities to have their days under sun as well with positive intent and huge amount of luck as well. Who doesn't love an underdog!
5. I did watch quite a few matches played by associate nations and the gap between them and established nations are narrowing but no format gives them such a good chance to pull off upsets and stay competitive as T20. It seems to be fairly obvious that if cricket wants to move beyond the 10-12 nations where it commands a good following then T20 is the way to go. The good run by Afgans and managing to pull off a stunning win over the eventual champions in the recent world cup is case in point. The qualifier felt like cheating but the number of mismatches have come down drastically and this format represents the only chance for game to expand to a real 16 nation or beyond competitive WC
6. Really good players will still rock this format. Think Virat Kohli, Joe Root, Md Amir, enough said!
7. Cricket is a game which takes stats and records seriously. A bit too seriously! No I'm not going to encourage any discussion on my fav batsman Sachin ;) There has been lot of debate on whether players slow down when reaching milestones like 50, 100 and yeah 200 etc. There is huge obsession over landmarks, average etc The number of 100s a batsman has and making a 100 was something that ODI inherited from Test cricket, but t20 is a format where people just care about scoring and atleast as of now milestones don't seem to matter as much as other formats and run scoring and delivering for team when needed seems to be even more crucial factor than sheer volume of runs or wickets
8. t20 is the only format which can make leagues like IPL, Big-bash, Ram-slam work and makes it possible for cricket loving folks to get more and more cricket on tv during summer
So thank you T20 for giving some sort of cricketing action throughout the summer, I didnt watch last IPL but this time thanks to Asia cup and WC I'm all enthused despite the fact that my fav IPL team is no longer around. Hoping to get a few hours of regular good cricketing action throughout the summer
