Why Twenty20 'Big Man'?
Sat, Dec 24, '05
We mustn't kid ourselves into believing Twenty20 cricket is a passing phase. In my view it's here to stay and will grow from strength to strength.
In Britain it's a huge hit, not least because, in Summer, people can do a full day's work, then go to the park and spend those long evenings playing in or watching a cricket match to its completion.
Even in the Caribbean when the daylight hours are far longer at the height of summer, it's perfectly possible for people to start a Twenty20 match at 3:30-4:00pm and have it done before the light finally goes at 6:30 going 7:00 pm.
It should prove a huge boost for cricket in schools - making it easier to organise house and class competitions at the tail-end of a school day.
But those who believe it will replace or somehow lead to a downgrading of traditional or one-day cricket, for that matter, are also fooling themselves.
Thirty years ago, many thought one-day cricket would have been the death of Test cricket. Today one-day competitions remain extremely popular and are huge money-spinners but Test cricket enjoys as much prestige as it ever has and there is more of it than ever before.
And cricket lovers agree that with all due respect to Cricket's World Cup, which is the biggest cricketing event there is, Test-match cricket remains supreme. We also agree that for the West Indies Test team to regain the road to glory, there is need for some major investment.
Which is why I am annoyed that American/Antiguan investor Allen Stanford, with all those millions of dollars earmarked for cricket, should be choosing to spend the bulk of it on Twenty20.
Clearly he is seeing spin-offs down the road. And who am I to doubt his business acumen?
But surely, there is also much for astute businessmen to gain from investing in the more traditional forms of the game in the Caribbean.
Now we are told that Stanford has engaged the services of 14 West Indies cricket "legends" to serve as his envoys. The list reads like a Who's Who: Everton Weekes, Desmond Haynes, Courtney Walsh, Clive Lloyd, Lance Gibbs, Ian Bishop, Vivian Richards, Garfield Sobers, Gordon Greenidge, Joel Garner, Wes Hall, Richie Richardson, Curtly Ambrose and Andy Roberts.
It's my fervent hope that if they haven't started doing so already, all these legends will very quickly start whispering in the "big man's" ear.
* In association with Jamaica Observer.