Sunday 23 September 2007

20-20 Cricket

'20-20 cricket' It's entertaining, it's thrilling and this shorter form of the sport has revived my interest in the game. I used to be a die-hard fanatic of cricket, but for the last few years my passion for cricket has been declining or you can say that it almost faded away.Thanks to the 20-20 World Cup I am excited about cricket again.

"Twenty20 cricket already has the potential to replace the ODIs as the most populist version of the sport," Wasim Akram told Reuters. He futher says "The Twenty20 World Cup has been a big success in terms of the interest it has evoked and people coming in to the grounds. You didn't get such big crowds and excitement even in the World Cup in West Indies."

I agree to Wasim Akram, and totallly enjoy watching the Twenty20 matches.What about you guys? Do you see Twenty20 cricket emerging and replacing ODI's as the most popular form of cricket?

16 comments:

Sameer said...

Absolutely! The biggest problem with cricket has always been the time it takes to finish a match. Now we can have three matches in one day instead of just waiting for one match to end. I don't see the other forms of cricket fading away totally. They'll be there for the die hard fans of Test matches and proper techniques and classical cricket as they say. But twenty20 will definitely bring more followers into the domain of cricket because of its excitement.
ICC brought the world cup at the right time I think.

P.S. WAY TO GO!! PAK VS INDIA FINAL!!!

Ethereal said...

I like the real thing. The only form of cricket I enjoy is a 1 on 1 duel with my brother. Either you're bowling or batting. No fielders. Just you and your favorite enemy... err brother.

isaleem said...

The glamor in this t20 is fantastic. I hope i clear my meaning by saying "glamor". ;D.

Syra said...

Lets hope and pray that the Pak team can manage to break the jinx of losing to India in World Cup matches.
Pak-India matches have an added tension and excitement.

Sameer, Have you noticed that when it comes to batting the aussies play test cricket in almost the same fashion as one day int. They keep ticking the scoreboard.

Ethereal--I enjoy the 1-1 duel with my brother too =).I Let me guess, you are good at spin bowling?
I enjoyed playing with my friends in high school the most.It's unfortunate that girls in FAST didn't share the same interest.

Imran, If you are referring to the girls dancing on every boundary hit, then to me thats a complete no no. I dislike it.The charm of the game should be the game itself and not the cheerleaders.

Unknown said...

yup no doubt its short, thrilling and the best thing is that it finishes in 3-4 hours and is good for those who don't have time to sit for the whole day to wait for the conclusion. However the only(important) thing that lacks is that it can't express the true potential of the teams. In ODI's to win a team has to work hard in all 3 fields(bat,ball and field) and has enought room to turn the situation at anytime of game where as in 20/20 its more of just 'tukka' (jiska ziada acha chal gaya). Like India beating Australia with the help of only one man Yuhraj Singh!!....So it is thrilling but i think it can't replace ODI.

isaleem said...

awwwwwwwwww!!!

Syra said...

Ali,Good Point.
Twenty20 is more of a test of playing under pressure, in possible tight situations.The team ought to be in attack mode.The game doesn't get boring.

ODI's have their own place,but i still think Twenty20 will emerge as the most popular form of cricket.

The very purpose of Test match cricket is to judge the true potential of the teams in all three avenues.

Anonymous said...

Its this first time i actually seem to have developed an interest in cricket...Twenty20, definitely better than regular cricket

Ethereal said...

"I wish I could do that."
-David Lloyd's thoughts on cheerleading

I think cheerleading is funky and funny. I mean perfectly sane bunch of people dancing on a stage in front of 20k people for no reason at all. The only time they were seen sitting tensed was during the end stages of a close match.

Saira I'm pretty good at all forms of bowling. Though I'm best at bowling medum fast pace with a tight line; A result of my long and arduous daily 2 hour duels with my brother in high school where 95% I would have a ball in my hand where a bad delivery not only meant a boundary but a 50+ meter long run. Naturally, I'm no good at batting than a papaya holding toothpick.

Syra said...

I had to take my mom out to jinnah mkt yesterday.Had to miss on the match but just my luck! This is what happened:
The customers, the shopkeepers, families, kids, everybody who had come out for shopping had gathered outside golchakar infront of a huge screen placed (in mid air) there.The crowd was simply dynamic and electrifying! Every run scored was celebrated. Almost everybody was praying for the win. There was thrill and excitement in the air. There was a huge roar when Misbah ul haq hit that sixer in the last over, and a sudden dead silence in the very next ball when he was out caught. Heads down all around. Nevertheless, watching the match with complete strangers all around you, cheering for Team Pakistan, praying together, jumping around for the same cause was a splendid experience.
And i made my mom watch it too :-)

isaleem said...

no comments :(

Syra said...

?

Anonymous said...

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Sameer said...

Syra Said: "Sameer, Have you noticed that when it comes to batting the aussies play test cricket in almost the same fashion as one day int. They keep ticking the scoreboard."

Yeah! That's where things have started changing a bit. Too much of One-day's has even made the Test matches a little more exciting and high scoring. Which is good in my opinion. Test matches were going lazy, I feel. There has to be a sizzle, a sparkling form of energy in every form of cricket. Aussies have definitely led the way in doing so.

Good strong final. At the end it just wasn't our day I suppose :). But well played Misbah-ul-haq! Definitely the new "hero-ul-haq".

Let's see how the SA tour to Pak rolls out. Best of luck PAKISTAN!

Ethereal said...

Yesterday in an article in the The News English coach Duncan Fletcher revealed that they suspected Pakistan of ball-tempering in that infamous forfeited match and used long-range goggles to spot any suspicious activity. He said they couldn't believe the Pakistanis could reverse-swing so early with the old ball.

In the 1999 world cup final (that was in England; same conditions) Wasim Akram was seen reverse-swinging the ball as early as the twentieth over when he came for his second spell. Note that every other Pakistani bowler failed to make the ball swing.

England beat Australia in the Ashes and the victory was attributed to their great 'skill' with the old ball. Australian bowlers then knew as much about reverse swing as a 5 year old school boy would know about nuclear physics.

In the 1996 (I reckon) test series between Pakistan and England the English captain M. Atherton (who was one of the commentators during the Ashes) was caught on camera 'polishing' the ball with a sharp little pointy knife.

Hypocrites!

Syra said...

M. Atherton,the same English captain was caught on camera rubbing sand with the ball. He had sand in his pocket for the very purpose!
but ofcourse, since he is white he can be excused and can point fingers at others!
RACISTS + HYPOCRITES! what a combo!