Twenty20: Is This The End?

This week sees the start of the ICC World Twenty20 in England, as cricket fans from around the world focus on the shortest form of the game, yet again, looking for excitement and action.

The popularity of the twenty over form of the game is something that is imperative to its success, and, so far, it is that popularity that has allowed the form of cricket to expand so much in just six years.

But is this expansion in the best interests of Twenty20?

When the Twenty20 Cup was first introduced into English Cricket back in 2003, there was a real air of excitement and a big fuss from all parties involved—broadcasters, fans, players, clubs and the ECB. 

The tournament was set to make a ‘significant impact on our domestic cricket’ according to the ECB and was one of the ‘most revolutionary and exciting initiatives’ they had ever taken.

They were right. It has made a huge impact on domestic cricket, and even International Cricket, with big financial gains and a large increase in audiences around the country.  The competition has even led to a new International World Cup Competition, set for its second outing this week.

The impact of the short format has been far greater than most expected, but is also attracting a lot of negative attention from cricket purists both in the press and around County Grounds. 

What the ECB, ICC, and even the BCCI need to be weary of is over-exposing the game, and devaluing it.  On both a domestic and international level, this is a real possibility. While it may seem the fans can’t get enough of T20 at the minute, they have a limit, and it seems it is going to be tested very soon.

When the Twenty20 Cup started in 2003, it involved 48 games—three games on Finals Day and 45 group games over 12 midsummer days in June.  This season's competition sees a total of 97 games over a longer period of time.

But the worst is yet to come in 2010.

After a few years of attendances dropping and interest fading, the Pro40 League is being disbanded, giving those ‘over worked’ English cricketers some space to breath during the summer. Yet it is being replaced by a new P20 League. Yes, more Twenty20.

But this is not at the expense of the Cup Competition, which will still run with a similar format, but in addition to it.

The league will run similar to the Pro40 League, with two divisions and three teams promoted or relegated each season, meaning each team could play 16 matches in addition to 10 more in the Cup. 

All this means is that in seven years, Twenty20 has gone from three games at each ground to thirteen. Is Twenty20 really that popular?

With a lot of empty seats at grounds this season already, many counties are going to face an uphill struggle to fill their grounds next year. The whole concept has been so successful in terms of attendance because it was a special event, it was something that happened four or five times a season, so peopled flocked to see it.

Now, it doesn’t have that appeal and clubs are having to increase spending on promoting and marketing the games. The atmosphere that was created by the full grounds is now fading as more and more empty seats appear and fans pick and choose the games that suit them.

The addition of the new P20 League is leading to another potential grey area for counties, The longer form of the game and club memberships at many counties will need to change drastically.

Many Counties do not include Twenty20 matches as part of their membership packages, which has increased the match-day revenue for the T20 games. But from this winter, that may have to change.

With the loss of the Pro40, the number of games available to members will be greatly reduced. So either membership prices will need to fall or Twenty20 will need to be included. 

The options available for this are obviously plentiful and could be a whole new article. But what is certain is it will have a big effect on attendances at domestic cricket in 2010.

Test Cricket is still regarded as the pinnacle of the game, but weather it can hold on to that throne could be determined in the next two years, as cricket fans are bombarded with more and more Twenty20 both domestically and Internationally. 

How they respond could revive or further alienate test cricket.