Twenty20 is a whole new game
Reflecting on my tremendous enjoyment of the recent Twenty20 'world cup' it strikes me that Twenty20 is not just shorter but qualitatively different from 50-over One Day cricket.
Two aspects stand out.
The first is intensity - with just 120 deliveries, every ball counts. I can't think of many other games like this.
To be specific - after each delivery the odds have shifted in one direction or another: a wicket or a dot ball moves favour the bowling side (unless the wicket brings in a big hitter); a two or (even more) a boundary favour the batters - YET even as the odds are shifting gradually throughout the game, there exist the possibility of a sudden and radical change in advantage: eg. a 'big over' with twenty something scored (or even six sixes), or a hat-trick.
And as the game progresses, each delivery counts for more, so there is a mounting of tension.
The second is the glorious exhilaration of so many boundaries - especially the big sixes. I enjoyed this far more than I had expected.
While 50 over cricket is pretty much a shorter version of the same kind of thing as a test match, Twenty20 really is like a new game.
On top of this there are lots of sudden changes in momentum and advantage, and plenty of tight finishes.
It's great! So much better than I had imagined. And the reason it is better is that we are all still learning how to watch it. In this respect Twenty20 is indeed like baseball - a game of percentages and shifting dominance.
I think Twenty20 has taken us all by surprise, but we should let it rip. Who knows where the new game will evolve?
Two aspects stand out.
The first is intensity - with just 120 deliveries, every ball counts. I can't think of many other games like this.
To be specific - after each delivery the odds have shifted in one direction or another: a wicket or a dot ball moves favour the bowling side (unless the wicket brings in a big hitter); a two or (even more) a boundary favour the batters - YET even as the odds are shifting gradually throughout the game, there exist the possibility of a sudden and radical change in advantage: eg. a 'big over' with twenty something scored (or even six sixes), or a hat-trick.
And as the game progresses, each delivery counts for more, so there is a mounting of tension.
The second is the glorious exhilaration of so many boundaries - especially the big sixes. I enjoyed this far more than I had expected.
While 50 over cricket is pretty much a shorter version of the same kind of thing as a test match, Twenty20 really is like a new game.
On top of this there are lots of sudden changes in momentum and advantage, and plenty of tight finishes.
It's great! So much better than I had imagined. And the reason it is better is that we are all still learning how to watch it. In this respect Twenty20 is indeed like baseball - a game of percentages and shifting dominance.
I think Twenty20 has taken us all by surprise, but we should let it rip. Who knows where the new game will evolve?
posted by Bruce Charlton at 9:47 AM
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