Give every format its due

When Twenty20 matches are promoted, they are often talked about as "fast-paced entertainment" or "rock n' roll cricket". It's time the officials changed their approach and came up with a more appropriate theme for a game that has the potential to be their major money spinner.

They could do worse than promote Twenty20 simply as entertaining cricket. At least that way the officials are pushing the notion that Twenty20 is primarily a game of cricket that just happens to run a similar length to a hit-studded concert full of foot-stomping and arm-waving. This is important because the format will live or die on the standard of the on-field product rather than having the most scantily dressed dancing girls, the loudest music or the greatest number of famous faces in the crowd.

It's fine to have entertainment for the fans in the change of innings and before and after the game, but not during; by doing so the officials are implying the cricket may not be worthy. To allow players to be miked up for television in "social" games is acceptable, but in a tournament when the teams are fighting for a trophy it is a dangerous path to follow. There is the implication that winning the match isn't the players' highest priority.

The latest Twenty20 controversy, the one concerning New Zealand's Brendon McCullum, highlights the lack of thought that went into formulating the rules, and displays a distinct lack of care when it comes to nurturing the game. The rules allowed McCullum to represent New South Wales, though he was already contracted to the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL. This means McCullum has two chances to qualify for the Champions League tournament. It is another example of the administrators making a mockery of the game.

McCullum is not the only player in the ambiguous position of being able to qualify via more than one team, but allowing NSW to sign him once they'd made the final of the Australian competition, and were therefore already qualified for the Champions League, serves to highlight a serious anomaly in the rules.

Right from the outset the IPL hierarchy promoted their tournament as "similar to the English Premier League football competition". Well, Cristiano Ronaldo doesn't have the choice of representing either Manchester United or Sporting Lisbon in qualifying for European competition. Ronaldo either plays for United at club level or else he represents his country Portugal in international competition. Surely, this is a preferable policy in ensuring the integrity of the game?

The time is right for the administrators to sit down and map out a future for cricket, which entails a sane playing schedule and the suitable promotion of all three forms of the game. At the moment scheduling has taken on a life of its own that's creating an administrative nightmare, a physical grind for the players, and in some quarters, indifference from the paying public.

Perhaps one way to begin untangling the scheduling mess would be to gradually separate Test series and ODI tournaments from Twenty20, eventually leaving the latest form of the game purely for franchised clubs.

However, the problem with any plan to restructure international cricket is, it will always be hampered by tradition. Any move to streamline first-class competitions like county cricket, the Sheffield Shield and the Ranji Trophy, which are necessary to produce the international players of the future, will be met with a storm of protest.

Therefore it's going to take some creative thinking to come up with a proposal that satisfies every country's needs, and those of the game both in the present and for the foreseeable future. Because the international game is the financial fuel that runs the cricket machine, any viable structure will have to be built from the top down. To draw up a palatial penthouse and work down to a no-frills basement will take some vision, and it would also help if the architect had a master's degree in both foreign diplomacy and financial wizardry.

Anyone who saw the closing stages of the World Twenty20 tournament in South Africa, and the final of the IPL tournament, will vouch for the skill and nerve required to play the latest version of the game. It's important to ensure that Twenty20 is promoted as an exciting form of cricket, thereby implying that it's also good entertainment.