Sutherland for Twenty20 at state level

The overwhelming turnout for the first two Twenty20 games in Australia was noticed by the head of Cricket Australia, James Sutherland, who has said that this form of the game will be played at state level next season. Over 20,000 people watched Australia A and Pakistan compete at the Adelaide Oval, while Western Australia played Victoria in front of a full house.

Twenty20 made a relatively late debut in Australia, after enjoying success in England and South Africa, and the huge crowds and renewed interest were a welcome sight for Cricket Australia, which had worried about declining numbers and interest in the game. "It's a fantastic response," said Sutherland to AAP. "You can't fail to be impressed or excited about the potential that this form of the game might have."

Sutherland said that while it was too early to estimate when the game would be fully incoporated into Australia's international schedule, the enthusiastic response to the two unofficial games meant that Twenty20 would become a regular fixture at state level.

"The signals we're getting in these last two days is that it's something the fans are interested in seeing more of," said Sutherland, "and we need to look at the way in which we can introduce it on perhaps a more formal basis next season. For an unofficial match between two state teams to have a capacity crowd is just a phenomenal result.

"As a state player, how could you not enjoy playing in front of a capacity crowd when you're used to playing in front of a few hundred people?"

Sutherland also saw Twenty20 as a vehicle for change, for it could attract a new audience to cricket. The view was not a unique one, for administrators in England and South Africa have spoken of the abbreviated form of the game being ideal for audiences piqued by cricket but wary of its unusual length.

"We want to make sure that in a demographic sense, that cricket in whatever form can in some way appeal to all Australians and this is a great opportunity for us to capture part of the Australian demographic that we don't ordinarily capture."