Australian players fear T20 may destroy ODIs and hurt Tests

Melbourne, Dec 20 - Australia's rookie cricketers warn the authorities against succumbing to public demand by going in for more Twenty20 games as that would destroy the 50-over game and breed a generation of players unprepared for the unique demands of Test cricket, the Australian media reports.

A report in The Age says a new survey of 145 Australian, state and rookie-contracted players carried out by the Australian Cricketers Association shows that players overwhelmingly regard Test cricket as sacrosanct and Twenty20 as the third-most important form of the game, though they enjoy playing it and, increasingly, are beginning to treat it as legitimate, serious cricket rather than pure entertainment.

However, half of Cricket Australia's contracted players and 43 percent of state players professed concern about the impact of Twenty20 on cricket in its more traditional formats.

Asked to describe their concerns, players warned administrators not to be seduced by public demand for more T20, with 56 percent of Australian players saying this would harm attendances for one-day internationals.

While they believe Twenty20 is generally good for their own skill development (with the notable exception of spin bowlers) they think those benefits are restricted mainly to 50-over cricket and worry that future players will not be schooled in the more subtle, mentally demanding arts of the game if matches are allowed to multiply.

As one player said: 'T20 promotes low-skilled, weak cricketers instead of developing hardened, first class / Test match players.'

Australian Cricketers Association chief executive Paul Marsh said the short-term opportunities presented by Twenty20 must be balanced against the long-term health of the game.

'We don't want to get to a point where Twenty20 takes over from other forms of the game because we think it's going to have a detrimental effect from a skills perspective, from an attendances perspective,' Marsh said.

'If it gets to a point where the public are demanding Twenty20 above all other forms of the game we may not be able to supply it.

'And if you start playing too much Twenty20, and attendances and interest drops off in other forms of the game, you may never recover those.

'From a players' perspective, you are going to be churning out different types of athletes who may not be able to play these other forms. Maybe down the track if we are playing too much Twenty20, the other forms of the game will just wither and die.'

International Cricket Council guidelines limit Twenty20 internationals to three per home summer and no more than two against the same opponent, and Cricket Australia has no plans to lobby for more.

(c) Indo-Asian News Service

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