Regular readers of my column will know by now some of my pet peeves:
- Cricket cheerleaders
- MS Dhoni batting promotions
- The Shahid Afridi wicket celebration
- And above all, Twenty20 cricket overkill
However the recently concluded International T20 World Cup changed my mind about one thing. There is such thing as quality, watchable Twenty20 cricket and this quality only comes from one stage, the international stage.
Therefore my hate has been redirected now purely to domestic Twenty20 cricket, which really is nothing more than a batting circus. The recent World Cup had one key ingredient that the IPL and its various simpleton cousins do not have, top class players participating in actual teams.
Finally we get to see batsmen playing proper strokes built on technique and skill instead of swinging madly like a wood cutter on steroids. Finally we saw bowlers being able to contain them instead of serving up a volley of garbage. And most importantly, finally we saw teams playing for national pride rather than a meaningless mishmash team of licorice all-sorts.
This wasn't the IPL, this was real cricket.
Finally we get to see batsmen playing proper strokes built on technique and skill instead of swinging madly like a wood cutter on steroids. Finally we saw bowlers being able to contain them instead of serving up a volley of garbage. And most importantly, finally we saw teams playing for national pride rather than a meaningless mishmash team of licorice all-sorts.
This wasn't the IPL, this was real cricket.