by Malcolm Toogood

Created on: September 16, 2007

It is no surprise to see the old chestnuts being trotted-out as soon as any discussion begins on the merits, or otherwise, of Twenty20 Cricket. For the pro-lobby it's much better than spending five days at a game, it pulls in the crowds, and the kids love it. For the cons, it isn't a real game of cricket, the players do not need any skill to play it, the crowd are not gentlemanly, and so on, and so forth.

Dealing first with the criticisms on both sides, it has always amazed me how so-called aficionados of Test Cricket, say that that Twenty20 is not real cricket. But what is real cricket? Is it a game played by 22 professionals over five days on a fabulously manicured ground in front of a huge crowd who clap politely, or call out "Shot Sir!" every time something pleasurable occurs? Or is it a quick twenty-over thrash played by 22 local amateurs on a balmy summer's evening on an idyllic village green pitch, watched by their friends and families who can't wait to adjourn to the pub next door afterwards?

The answer is that it is both. They are the same basic game, played to a slightly different format, but enjoyed to the same relative degree by all taking part, whether player or spectator. Nobody has forced anybody to be there, indeed the test match spectator has paid a substantial sum for the privilege. But to hear some of them bang-on interminably about their preferred viewing-choice being the only real' version makes me wonder if any of them ever actually played the game, because that, for me, is the real distinction between the spectator who knows the game, and the one who simply talks it.

I had the immense pleasure of having sufficient skill to play the game for over 25 years. I was never talented enough to play at any great level, but I was good enough to play consistently well at my standard once I had established what that was. So I know, like other ex-cricketers, what goes on out there, the psychology, the banter, and so on, and that, for the players, what it comes down to is as much a gladiatorial contest as any other sport. It is quite simply bowler against batsman, the one trying to outwit the other ball by ball. That is what makes the game so exciting (yes exciting!) whatever the level, to both play and watch. It is also why Twenty20 appeals to a wider fan base, because the contraction of the game time accentuates this.

At my level, we played forty-over games at the weekend, but with the preparation and/or travelling, it still pretty-much took all day.

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