Grand Stan(d) Cricket
Some people hate it… Some people are hooked on to it..
Yes. You guessed right.
Welcome to the World of 20-20 cricket.
With so many 20-20 leagues formed and so many clones on the way, is cricket quickening its transformation to an only 20-20 existence?
(News is that Australia, New Zealand and South Africa are planning one of their own)
Biased as I may be, I hate even to think of such a day.
Best test of a cricketer’s skill and ability comes in the form of Test cricket. That is why it is called "Test" cricket.
But yes some people may argue otherwise. They may say that 20-20 is as exiting as it gets!
In test cricket you may play as many dot balls as you like, but here in the shorter version a dot ball is as precious to the fielding team as is a wicket in Test cricket.
A player needs to have the ability to concentrate each ball and to attempt to score on each of them.
I agree its a tough task and it is tougher on the bowlers.
However I may appreciate Test cricket, one thing I am not shy to admit is that Test cricket isn’t for everyone.
20-20 may be the best bet to promote awareness of cricket in non-cricket playing nations.
It is good for the crowd too. In today’s fast paced world not everyone has the time or the patience to sit through five days to cricket(which sadly might not provide a result).
That’s where 20-20 come into picture - A fast-paced sport that inevitably yields a result in 3-4 hours.
Well enough of comparison of 20-20 and Test cricket. Some may prefer the roadside Ice Gola to a ‘Chocolate Ecstacy’ at Coffee Day.
So let’s stop at that.
Now coming to Sir Allen Stanford’s magnum opus - 20-20 For 20, a unique winner takes all format in Cricket.
The winning team will win 20 million USD. In this time when the entire world is fearing recession, what drives a millionare to pledge 100 million USD as prize money for 5 years?
As the head of Stanford Financial, hasn’t he ever heard of ROI - Retun on Investment?
Few points to note here:
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Matches are scheduled in a small ground. There will be hardly any income from the tickets sold.
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In England where the hype is maximum, matches are being aired on Sky which makes the average user least interested.
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Sir Stan insists that he intends to promote and professionalise all the regional Caribbean teams. I sincerely hope that this is true. Being a West Indies cricket follower for a long time, I fail to understand how it will.
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The ground itself is a farce. Bad floodlights. Bad Pitch. All making mockery of cricketers. What was ECB thinking while signing the deal?
Don’t think Mr. Stan even cares!
©The Mirror
All said and done 1st of Nov is the D-Day. With 20 million USD on the line, let’s see who can hold the nerves.
And for Mr. Stan! Does he manage to keep himself away from the wives and girlfriends of the English cricketers? Or does his (****) get the better of him?
We shall wait and watch.
P.S> Do you want to know what some of the English cricketers had to say? Click here.
Update(3rd Nov ‘08) : The English cricketers have received a mighty drubbing from Sir Stan’s Superstars. Andrew Miller, UK editor of Cricinfo, reports : "England, to their credit, were magnanimous to a fault in defeat, with Kevin Pietersen positively beaming as he reflected on the social justice that had been meted out on his watch. "At the end of the day you look at the happy faces of those boys who have nothing, it brings a smile to my face to see how happy they are," he said. "I’m a human being, and these guys are fellow professionals. It is so great to see a guy fall over on his back crying, with a million dollars in his bank account."
But as Chris Gayle very correctly pointed out during the after-match presentation ceremony - "Who doesn’t want a million, you got to be crazy!"
If the match didn’t, this particular comment would have brought a smile on the faces of the few brave spectators who witnessed Sir Stan’s grand dream of "20-20 for 20" unfold into a rather dishevelled, ghastly nightmare.
Cheers,
Rosh
