Twenty20 to Spell an End to the Five-Day Game?

Having just watched the latest installment of this year's domestic Twenty20 tournament, it made me wonder, "will Twenty20 bring a death to Test cricket as we know it?".

With the lucrative million-dollar Champions League and the impact of American billionaire Sir Allen Stanford, will there still be the desire to don the traditional whites and play for 5 days, earning less in that time that could be earned in a mere 4 hours of cricket?

With the atmosphere, capacity crowds and exciting hitting that Twenty20 brings to the table, will the domestic 4 day game also suffer? The county arena has become used to empty stands and dull draws in the last few seasons.

Why would county players choose to compete in a 5 month schedule of 4-day games in front of a few thousand people for a prize money of £100,000, when they can play one short 4 hour game that has a carnival atmosphere and can earn a player potentially millions fo dollars in prize money?

However, there is a great contradiction with all this Twenty20 business. As seen in the Indian Premier League earlier this year, the top players that were auctioned off at the highest prices and ultimately drew the largest crowds were all in fact the proven stars of the Test match arena.

The likes of Shane Warne, Glenn Mc Grath, Shaun Pollock and Mahendra Singh Dhoni all have proven their worth on the Test match stage. That is the reason these players have become so greatly desired by the Indian franchises and their multi-millionaire owners from the world of Bollywood and the Indian business world.

All this taken into account though, no-one can take away from Test cricket the amazing memories it has produced in its history, whether it be Shane Warne bowling Mike Gatting with "that ball", or England regaining the Ashes in 2005 after the magical Test match at Edgbaston.

As an 18 year-old English lad having been brought up with Test cricket and having witnessed some magical moments first hand (Michael Vaughan bowling Sachin Tendulkar on 99 at Trent Bridge being my favourite), Test cricket is certainly not dead and will be around for years to come.

My only hope is that the youngsters of tomorrow will see Test cricket and dream, like I did, of one day pulling on that white shirt and sweater and representing my country in the game we all know and love.