CRICKET NEW AVATAR

Cricket from pure plain white which was played for five days mostly for a draw(TEST Matches) turned into colors , one day, and with a definite result(ONE Day matches).Cricket is going through another new format the T20.It is all about time,speed, aggression,power,boldness,fun and jubilation. I prefer to term it as slam bang cricket. Twenty20 cricket is a huge innovation which should over time expand the size of the market. It is, to use the language of marketing, a breakthrough product. Like all variants, there are fears that Twenty20 will cannibalize other established products. It’s not clear this would happen.It is a new format and it is here to stay, It is an entertainer and a great treat for the audience for they have a variety of SIXES,music and of course the dances.Cricketing legends observe that it is a sure threat to test cricket and onedayers. But all the formats will exist like, Rahul Dravid,Ganguly and Yuvaraj singh. T20 will soon be introduced in Asian games,common wealth games and Olympics ..which means we will very soon watch Chinese, japan es, Koreans, Germans, Italians, French ,Cameron,Argentina,Saudi Arabia and so many other countries playing cricket.Cricket will grow greater heights until then let the sixes fly.

All about Twenty20 cricket

*Twenty20 cricket was introduced in the UK in 2003 as a professional inter-county competition. A crowd of 26,500 turned up for the first T20 match at Lord’s, the largest attendance for a county game other than a one-day final since 1953.

*India was the last of the 10 Test-playing nations to debut in T20, beating South Africa by 6 wickets in Johannesburg on December 1, 2006.

* The highest and lowest team scores in T20 internationals are 221 and 79, both by Australia against England.

*England and the West Indies scored 401 in 40 overs at the Oval on June 28, 2007, the highest T20 match aggregate so far.

*Graeme Smith with 259 runs in 5 matches is the highest run scorer in Twenty20 international cricket.

*Paul Collingwood, captain of the England team has taken 9 wickets which is the highest by any bowler in this unique game.

*Australian skipper Ricky Ponting’s 98 not out is the highest score in an innings by any batsman in Twenty20 international cricket.

*The Wanderers stadium, Johannesburg in South Africa has hosted 4 Twenty20 international matches which is the highest for any ground in the world. The World Twenty20 championship final is also slated to be played at this ground.

*Marlon Samuels of West Indies has the highest strike rate of 202.17 in Twenty20 international cricket.

The new rules

*A no-ball costs 2 runs and the next delivery is a free hit.

*Each innings has a time limit of 75 minutes. For every over bowled after that, the batting side is credited an extra 6 runs.

*If a batsman fails to reach the crease within 90 seconds after the fall of a wicket, the bowling side gets 5 penalty runs.

*Fielding restrictions are applicable for the first 6 Overs of the innings.

*There’s a bowl-out as a tie-breaker, with 5 bowlers from each side delivering 2 balls each at an unguarded wicket.