Much of the babble among the cricket cognoscenti surrounds the relevance of white-ball cricket. Fifty-over or 20-over international series are often disparaged as meaningless, a term easily dispensed but much less explained.
Hugh McIlvanney’s description of the “… glorious irrelevance of sport” pointed to sport as a precious event – something we could perhaps do with a lot more these days to take our minds off the politics of destruction, corporate self-interest and all-pervasive social media.
Of course, there is a point to every match, every series. Players are going about their jobs: support staff, officials, ground staff, caterers, media and broadcasters all have positions that enable the players to play. The end-game is not just money, although plenty is needed to sustain any elite sport.
The fans who tune in, listen, watch, cheer, smile, frown, despair or jubilate are the engine that drives sport onward. Cricket is fortunate to have a vast and dedicated audience. Sometimes the process of playing the game is relegated because the contest may have been one-sided, the result expected and the drama unappetising.
What the last two T20 World Cups have shown is that this shortest form of the game actually brings back vitality to cricket as a whole. Franchise cricket is expanding, but it may not be improving. Every T20 franchise set up in the world – apart from the Fairbreak Womens event – is a domestic competition: plenty of local players, reinforced by globetrotting professionals who make a fine living flying from one team to another.
The thought of players being signed to 12-month contracts by individual IPL owners for their franchises around the world is mind-numbing. I cannot imagine watching the same players over and over again, all year long, playing the same reverse ramps and switch-hit sweeps. They would be wearing almost identical playing uniforms. Only the location would be different.
Afghanistan fans cheer their side against Australia on Friday night.Credit:AP
The diversity of the game would evaporate and with it, the incentives to develop the next great players. Where would new players come from? The club system in Australia performs a terrific role in player development but, like most amateur systems, is one of the most underfunded levels in the grand cricket kingdom.
The concentration of money among a handful of players and owners would be staggering. This is why the current World Cup has been so instructive. International cricket has been the foundation stone of the game since the 19th century, albeit originally restricted to the major countries of the empire, but expanding through the 20th century.
That evolution took almost 100 years. Today we see Ireland, the Netherlands, Afghanistan, Namibia, Scotland et al not just providing healthy competition to the big boys but actually beating them. The next wave of international cricket is upon us, and T20 has been the vehicle.
National identities have been created as Lorcan Tucker smites Mitchell Starc, or Paul van Meekeren rolls KL Rahul, or Sikandar Raza deceives Shadab Khan. Those David and Goliath battles are a powerful reason to turn on and tune in.
Ireland celebrate their big win against the West Indies.Credit:Getty
Great players on the brink have both faded and shone. Aaron Finch deserved a more auspicious conclusion of a stellar white-ball career while Virat Kohli enhanced a stuttering reputation – his innings against Pakistan was impressive not just for the quantity of matchwinning runs but also for the purity of his stroke. Not the premeditated ramp or excessive crease movement for Virat, just orthodoxy made ethereal.
The developing nations are in the main doing just that, presenting fearless talents who are becoming national heroes. Sport needs heroes. They broaden the game and attract the sceptical. Having a star to emulate is no longer restricted to the mainstream teams. These new models encourage the watchers to play and imitate. This premise stands even more so for women’s cricket – which is growing at great speed, from Mongolia to Rwanda.
Franchise cricket does not allow opportunities for the Tuckers, Razas and van Meekerens. International tournaments give the Irish and Nepalese an equal chance at creating heroes.
The Test Championship was created to give Test cricket “greater relevance”. Test cricket is perhaps less needy of a reminder of its place in the big picture, but very few countries are actually playing five-day matches.
Nevertheless, the Test Championship has been a qualified success. What if every T20 International match was played for points on a competition ladder? Australia might have to play a three- or five-game series against 10 countries every 12 months. Nepal v Oman would have the same number of points up for grabs as Australia v England. That would force the big teams to play the lesser lights more often.
Unranked countries must already play qualifying matches to earn their place at World Cups. An international T20 league competition would be completely separate to a World Cup, just as premiership football codes have cup competitions alongside weekly premiership matches.
The upsets we have seen from Ireland over the West Indies and England, Namibia over Sri Lanka, Scotland over the West Indies, and Zimbabwe over Pakistan, have been revitalising, riveting, shocking and exhilarating. The fans have reacted with sparkle and passion. The form book has been hard to follow, which is a good thing.
Australia’s performance should be examined through this lens. They have lost only one game just as they had done in the successful 2021 campaign, and the MCG washout may have deprived them of the chance to make it to the semi-finals. Questions will be asked of their selections and ability to be subjective in the light of various form slumps but, regardless, the rest of the T20 universe has caught up in a hurry. Two World Cups in two years has been a catalyst for exposure and improvement.
Afghanistan almost pulled off a win over Australia that would have put a phosphorescent exclamation point on the success of that country and the tournament. There really has been some memorable cricket played, which is not often said of T20 tournament. The conditions have played their part with fast pitches, large outfields and balls that actually swing, giving bowlers something of a say with the new ball. Old players have been tested and new ones unearthed.
Let’s continue to abet the rise of the underdog, and the meaningfulness of 20-over cricket. Make the international game the main game. That way the Scots, Irish, Dutch, Namibians, Omanis et al can have a serious place in a world game. McIllvaney’s observation remains close to the mark.
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