Does Cricket Have a T20 Problem?

 *** This article was first published in February 2023. It was ahead of India's tour to South Africa, as well as the controversial Proteas squad announcement for the tour to New Zealand in February 2024... ***

If there ever was a case of becoming a victim of one’s own success, the sport of cricket can attest to this double-edged sword.

Namely, Twenty20 cricket. This shortened form of the game took the sport by storm back in 2003 when English cricket implemented it to regain the waning attention of spectators at stadiums and viewers at home. It made perfect sense, for the Gentlemen’s Game – Test, First-Class, One Day International and List-A – was struggling to hold the attention of fans at the start of the 21st century. There were already more than enough distractions in the day of the average cricket lover to deter them from going to the stadium or plopping down on the coach to see how the Proteas could navigate a particularly tricky lunch-to-tea session against an unexpectedly competitive Zimbabwean team.

You can understand the appeal of only having to concentrate for roughly three hours in a format of helter-skelter, no-holds-barred, glorified action cricket. With such factors being considered, it was only a matter of time before T20 cricket became the sport’s biggest drawcard, which led to hitherto unseen avalanches of cash flows into the game – we see you, Indian Premier League. Incidentally, the latter led to a power shift in the power of administration, but that’s a tasty political discussion for another day.

At what cost did this success come, though? The matter of turn-outs dropping in the longer formats – yes, even in limited-overs cricket – was mentioned earlier, but what about out on the field of play? Well, for starters, the quality and competitiveness of Test cricket have seen a noticeable drop as the less financially mighty nations throw their eggs into the T20 basket. For example, the West Indies, the Test juggernaut of the 1970s, 80s and 90s, are a nasty T20 outfit, but do not need much to be rolled over in the long version. Not long ago, superstars like Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo called it a day dressing up in white to maximise their earning potential in the colours of whatever franchise that would snap them up wherever on the map.

England’s match-winner Ben Stokes, whose name alone can pack the rafters, walked away from ODIs because the increased workload was getting to him, which is something other overworked international players have hinted at throughout the last decade as they try to manage their schedules. Star Proteas all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius called it a day as an international player over a month ago to concentrate fully on T20 cricket. He is an asset to ANY team on the planet, and with him stating that he wants to concentrate fully on the 20-over game, you start noticing a distinct pattern.

For good measure, South Africa won three Test series on the bounce in Australia between 2008 and 2016. Unfortunately, this all came to a humiliating end over the summer as the Baggy Green settled old scores Down Under in the most convincing of fashions. This led to the great Ricky Ponting expressing his fear about the future of Test cricket after being shocked by the rabble masquerading as South Africa meekly surrendered to their arch-nemesis. Just to wash it all down, the Proteas sacrificed a crucial ODI series on this tour so that the lucrative SA20 could take place involving their key players. Cricket South Africa would rather stake the financial security this tournament provides against automatic qualification to the 2023 Cricket World Cup. That speaks volumes!

Interestingly, the country has been the centre of the cricket universe since January, hosting the SA20 extravaganza, the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup as well as the senior women’s T20 World Cup. CSA even managed to squeeze a three-match bilateral ODI series between the men’s team against England in between the T20 tournament, which saw hostilities between local sides suspended so that the Proteas and Three Lions’ finest could cross swords for a week.

With a cursory glance, one could say that T20 cricket has become problematic to the sport. But, there are very harsh economic realities that must be considered before the purists can continue their broadsides against this upstart format. Apart from perhaps three nations – India, Australia and England – the others simply can’t prioritise Test matches while having to maintain the health of their respective treasuries. And, like it or not, Twenty20 is a sure-fire guarantee of this health. It is what it is.