Twenty20 Cricket is the Future

Twenty20 (T20) cricket is becoming the number 1 format of the cricket code. More entertaining, more challenging, more marketable, more money, more fans, more, more, more! What do you think?

Fans packing into England's Rose Bowl for the 2008 Twenty20 Cup Finals

If Cricket were a family, Test is the grandpa, Oneday is the father and T20 is the next generation. There are many little brothers... the Indian Premier League, the Big Bash, the English Premier League...

All the Twenty20 Competitions in the World

• KFC Twenty20 Big Bash (Australia)
• Scotiabank National T20 Championship (Canada)
• Twenty20 Cup, Twenty20 English Premier League (England)
• Indian Cricket League, Indian Premier League (largest fanbase), Indian Inter-State T20 Championship (India)
• National Elite League Twenty20 or Sahara Elite League (Kenya)
• State Twenty20
• Super League, RBS Twenty-20 Cup (Pakistan)
• Standard Bank Pro 20 Series (South Africa)
• Inter-Provincial Twenty20 (Sri Lanka)
• Pro Cricket (USA)
• Stanford 20/20 (West Indies)
• Metropolitan Bank Twenty20 (Zimbabwe)

Quick History of Twenty20

It was first officially introduced in the United Kingdom as a local competition on the 13th of June, 2003 with the slogan "I don't like cricket, I love it". The English and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) wanted a new format of cricket that is more exciting, marketable to potential cricket fans both on TV and to fill stadiums full of star-struck spectators. The competition victor were the Surrey Lions defeating the Warwickshire Bears to take the 2003 Twenty20 Cup. Other cricket formats have existed alongside T20. Will they pale in comparison?

Quick Twenty20 Rules

• 2 teams
• full game is 2.5 hours
• 1 innings of 20 overs per team
• If 20th over not started in 75 minutes of innings there is a 6 run penalty per over
• Batsmen leave a bench at the side of the oval to conserve time
• Bowler can bowl max 4 overs
• If a bowler delivers a no ball it costs 1 run with the batsman getting a free hit next ball (can only be run out).
• Umpires can award 5 run penalty if team is wasting time
• Fielding restrictions include 5 or less leg fielders at a time, 2 fielders out of 30 yard circle for first 6 overs, and 5 out after first 6 overs.
• Ties are decided by playing a Super Over or Eliminator. 3 batsman and 1 bowler from each side play 1 over then the other team plays 1 over. The team with highest score for that over wins. If more than 2 out before end of over other team wins. If a tie for the Super Over/Eliminator than the highest number of sixes scored will win. If sixes are tied than team with highest number of 4's wins.

International Twenty20

In 2007 the ICC World Twenty20 was played in South Africa with India defeating Pakistan in the final. In June 2009 the next ICC World Twenty20 will unfold.

Is Twenty20 Really the Future?

The T20 is proving very successful when pitted against Tests and One Dayers for marketability, fan fare, player money for time played, converting non-cricket players and watchers into the mighty world that is Cricket.

However their is criticism. Newcomers may think that it is all 6's and 4's and pay little tribute to the more subtle techniques to playing conventional cricket. T20 could be seen as a batsman's game with the nextgen players not even bothering focusing on bowling. Will players become less loyal to established teams as money offered for their short-term services becomes greater? What are you thoughts?  Please comment below...

Twenty20 matches is the highlight reel of test and one day cricket with top names, big hits, suspenseful run chases all packed within 2 and a half hours. T20 cricket will bring in the mass viewers and big money but at what cost to the players and the quality of cricket.