Symonds fears for the fun of Twenty20s
Australia's allrounder Andrew Symonds fears the ever-increasing popularity of the game's newest format could detract from the fun
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"It's a game of fun for me," he told AAP. "But it looks like it's heading down the serious route, unfortunately."
Australia have made plain their intentions for the inaugural tournament, which for them begins with a match against Zimbabwe at Cape Town on September 12. Unlike several teams, most notably India, they have selected a full-strength squad and intend adding to their hat-trick of titles in the 50-over format. That marks something of a break from their previous attitude to the Twenty20 game.
Australia's first match, against New Zealand at Auckland in February 2005, featured retro-1970s clothing and facial hair, and Dennis Lillee-tribute headbands. Australia won by 44 runs, but seriousness was far from the players' thoughts.
"Playing the [Twenty20] games in the past the captain doesn't mind if you interact with the kids in the crowd and muck around a bit," Symonds said, "but now I don't know if that's going to be the case. I think it may end up heading down that serious road."
"I think probably in the end pride will take over and it will probably end up being a full blown battle, but we'll have to wait and see."
Symonds also told the Sporting Life website that Australia could find it tough to win the tournament. "I've always said that the shorter the game the easier it is for the lesser sides to beat you," Symonds said. "In 20 overs anything can happen."
However, Symonds maintained that his training schedule won't change for the shorter format. "I practice my skills the same for all forms," he said. "As long as I've got my basics all up to scratch and they're all firing I tend to be able to change for the different formats. I try not to complicate things too much."
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