Twenty,-twenty cricket is fast and exciting. This is in contrast to test cricket which is long and boring. Therefore, twenty- 20 cricket is a good addition to the game. But is it overshadowing test cricket, which is the traditional form of the game.
As stated before, twenty-20 cricket is fast and exciting. In fact the duration of the game is only three hours. And in this technologically advanced society where everything is being done in a faster manner than it used to have been done. We are finding that the society has now become impatient with slowness, which is a characteristic of test cricket. In essence, more people would be attracted to the shorter form of the game and therefore will attend those matches. And what the interest of most persons is where the sponsor’s attention will be focused. If more sponsors are involved, then it calculates to mean more money for the players who play this form of the game.
In contrast, test cricket is long and unexciting which goes against the interest of most persons. Thus they will not be attending the matches, there less sponsors will be attracted to this form of the game. Which means the players will not be paid as much as in the shorter form of the game.
Thus, we are seeing where more and more talented cricketers are retiring at a younger age to play 20-20 cricket ‘professionally’. That is to say that the player’s focus has shifted from the longest form of the game to the shortest form because of the monetary gains and also the shorter duration of the game. Test cricket is slowly being killed by 20-20 cricket.
Nyasha Watson
