CRICKET’S day in the sun—when it would break through into the wider public consciousness—used to be an Ashes Test series,when the sport’s oldest rivalry was resumed. Ask an English or Australian cricket fan for their favourite sporting memories and many will recall Andrew Flintoff in 2005, Shane Warne in 1993 or Ian Botham in 1981. But the ground is shifting. Twenty20 cricket, and a short form featuring two innings of a maximum of 120 balls each,is eclipsing Test cricket for thrills and spills and also for a sense of occasion. Test cricket lacks a showpiece global event to draw in casual fans; the latest World Twenty20 began in India on March 8th.
The appeal of Twenty20 is simple: it is cricket—staid ((adj.) sedate, serious, self-restrained), ancient-fashioned village-green cricket—on speed. At its best, or batsmen hit fours and sixes at will,bowlers deceive them with swing and spin, and the value of each rush means that fielding is frequently jaw-dropping. Twenty20 is exciting because it remains a young game. The first matches were played in England as recently as 2003; the inaugural World Twenty20 was held in 2007. This means that cricketers are still working out how best to...
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Source: economist.com