Maybe it's not so bad after all

It has only taken a week for Peter Roebuck to soften his anti-Twenty20 stance. He explains in the Sydney Morning Herald that although he is not yet a convert, he now understands that some good can come from the shortest format of the game.

Above all, the tournament has maintained its momentum. Thankfully, the ICC learnt from the mistakes made in the last long-winded World Cup. Matches have been rattling along so that interest has not wavered. Tickets have been cheap, $4 in the popular areas, and no attempt has been made to dampen spirits. To the contrary, music has been encouraged as well as silly costumes and amusing antics.

Robert Craddock, writing in the Courier-Mail, still has significant reservations.

I find it's like watching that old 1960s television show Combat (with Vic Morrow) where people got shot up at the rate of 100 deaths per minute. Eventually you get to the stage where you go "Oh, another one, anything else happening?" It doesn't push my buttons but you simply have to accept that cricket needs it.