Twenty20 should be a domestic game - Kirsten

South Africa coach Gary Kirsten believes the Twenty20 format should be limited to domestic cricket, where it could serve to boost attendances, as attempting to fit it into the international calendar could dilute the attraction of Tests and one-day internationals.

"I have always had a view that it is a great domestic product," said Kirsten. "Maybe you can look at the platform soccer works off, where they play mainly domestic soccer through the year and then they have a major tournament at a country level, maybe that's what T20 can do.

"I think international cricket does really well with Test cricket and the 50-over format of the game and I feel T20 cricket will dilute those products a little bit," he added.

The financial incentive offered by well-attended T20 matches, not to mention the television rights that go with them, means that cricket boards the world over are tempted to play more of the games. Attempting to find space in an already crowded international calendar is proving increasingly difficult, however, and extended tours to fit in matches have proved unpopular.

"The future tours programme doesn't allow for that much T20 cricket, they are trying to fit them in schedules and trying to find a space for them here or there," explained Kirsten. "You can't extend tours longer than six weeks and that has been an almost unwritten thing [rule], now that they want to keep tours as short as possible."

T20 cricket started in England in 2003, but it was the creation of the Indian Premier League in 2008 that made clear the potential of the format. Now a multi-billion dollar tournament, the IPL has also spawned the Champions League - run by the boards of India, Australia and South Africa - which features the best domestic T20 sides from the world's top cricketing nations.

Almost every Test-playing nation is following the Indian example, from Zimbabwe's revamped domestic franchises and push to include foreign players, to Australia's re-boot of the Big Bash League and the newly-minted Sri Lanka Premier League.

"I know Australia are trying that now, England are trying that, South Africa have their own T20 thing and there is great interest in it, and it brings crowds to the game in the domestic format that other forms of the game don't," said Kirsten. "There is very little support for domestic four-day cricket and domestic 50-over cricket, so I think it's great for the local game."

T20 has not been without its problems, however, many of which relate to the scheduling clashes between domestic tournaments and international fixtures. Cricketers such as West Indies' Chris Gayle have effectively been forced to pick between club and country, and T20 mercenaries who play for several different domestic sides around the world are becoming an increasingly common presence.

"I think it is a great product," said Kirsten. "There are going to be teething problems as we go along as it's a new product to world viewership and world sporting entertainment, but it's done remarkably well over a short period of time."