'Negative? Says who?'
Twenty20 may be the flavour of the moment, but there are fears it will marginalise Test cricket and affect playing techniques. We put the question to four experts
19-May-2008
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Mark Richardson
former New Zealand opener
I'm hoping Twenty20 cricket will have a positive effect on Test cricket in that it will give players more confidence to play in a positive and entertaining fashion and still be able to sustain it over five days. The two games are so far apart that I don't believe Twenty20 strategies will harm Test techniques.
former New Zealand opener
I'm hoping Twenty20 cricket will have a positive effect on Test cricket in that it will give players more confidence to play in a positive and entertaining fashion and still be able to sustain it over five days. The two games are so far apart that I don't believe Twenty20 strategies will harm Test techniques.
The threat right now is if the big dollars on offer in the leagues cause early Test retirements and thus weaken the Test game overall.
Kepler Wessels
former Australia opener and South Africa captain
Not at all. Both are completely different forms of the game. Twenty20 cricket is a separate entity, a totally different concept. If anything, the effect would be positive in that it might bring in more fans to the game. The only game to be affected would be the one-day version - the way Twenty20 cricket is flourishing, it might make one-day cricket seem boring.
former Australia opener and South Africa captain
Not at all. Both are completely different forms of the game. Twenty20 cricket is a separate entity, a totally different concept. If anything, the effect would be positive in that it might bring in more fans to the game. The only game to be affected would be the one-day version - the way Twenty20 cricket is flourishing, it might make one-day cricket seem boring.
Tony Cozier
veteran cricket commentator and writer
We have an immediate answer already with Brendon McCullum making a run-a-ball 97 on a seaming Lord's pitch. Twenty20 cricket is positive on all cricket. Fifty-overs cricket, when that came along, there was some doubt about the survival of Test cricket. But Test cricket has survived the test, literally, for over a hundred years.
veteran cricket commentator and writer
We have an immediate answer already with Brendon McCullum making a run-a-ball 97 on a seaming Lord's pitch. Twenty20 cricket is positive on all cricket. Fifty-overs cricket, when that came along, there was some doubt about the survival of Test cricket. But Test cricket has survived the test, literally, for over a hundred years.
It is inevitable. Even if the basics remain the same, the game will change. I saw an England team comprising Len Hutton, Denis Compton and Tom Graveney once make 120-odd in a day's play. They were scoring less than two an over, and they were the best English team. Now the mindset of the players is much more positive and Twenty20 will only maximise that.
Arun Lal
commentator and former India Test opener
On the contrary, it will have positive impact. What is so sacrosanct about Test cricket? If people want to watch it, they will. Why protect it? The Test cricket I watched 25 years ago has progressed so much and that is because of one-day cricket. When ODI cricket was introduced, the same noises were heard about the impact on the longer form of the game. Twenty20 is a paradigm shift - more interesting, more entertaining, while retaining the traditional and classical character of the game. I'm sure Twenty20 will make Test cricket more attractive as players will be more innovative.
commentator and former India Test opener
On the contrary, it will have positive impact. What is so sacrosanct about Test cricket? If people want to watch it, they will. Why protect it? The Test cricket I watched 25 years ago has progressed so much and that is because of one-day cricket. When ODI cricket was introduced, the same noises were heard about the impact on the longer form of the game. Twenty20 is a paradigm shift - more interesting, more entertaining, while retaining the traditional and classical character of the game. I'm sure Twenty20 will make Test cricket more attractive as players will be more innovative.
As told to Nagraj Gollapudi