For me T20 is a fun game just like you go out on Sundays and watch a good movie to take out all the stress of the week. However, what is more annoying for me is that players for any given team just want to show up in all format of the Cricket now. I think T20 is now in for infinite time, but what players need to realize is that they don't have to jump in all formats of the game. They need to decide what format they fit the most so that not only the fast forward events of T20 are enjoyed, but also the beauty of the ODI, and the delicacy of Test Cricket do not fade away. In this regard, I think ICC has to play its role very vigilantly so that Cricket remains Cricket and players are not just dollar figures or rolling stones from one format of the game to another.

Toronto, Canada

The dilscoop is probably the only real 20-20 innovation. The reverse sweep has been used since the days of Asif Iqbal and the Flower brothers were masters . It was Jayasyriya in 1996,who popularised the short arm jabs and slashes over point and cover for sixes.The paddle sweep too became popular in that period. Attapatu had a unique way of playing a full toss.Pollock had tried the slow bouncer in ODI's as did Malinga his yorkers.Jayasuriya in 96 bowled a lot of drifters or Nerus as the author calls it. Most of the innovations mentioned had their roots in ODI's

An interesting piece, looking at T20 through a more positive lens, reminding viewers that it is easy to dismiss T20 as just an entertaining event. T20 has made its own unique contributions to cricket, a case well-made by this post! Good job!

I think there is one thing you missed out. I see the demise of dibbly dobbly bowlers. You had Robin Singh for India, Eahlam et al. for England, Adam Dale for Aus and a bunch of others. Now I can't think of a single 'pure' bowler who bowls in the 100 to 120 kmph range. I think it is cauze they get whacked in T20.

fantastic. i have a similar view that t20 has spoiled the buety of cricket and has made it another quick fire affair feeding the raw senses of viewers at the cost of quality. on top of it by huge sums of money put on the winners it has spoiled the cricketers. over all this t20 has completely commercialised the entire sport and has killed the true nicities that made this game so rich

Fairly good article. It's like how you enjoy a cup of tea as well as a full course. Both are equally delightful depending upon the time you choose. For the present world's speed, T20 suits and as you rightly concluded, "Test cricket" will remain as an "antique".

@Zaheer: I think people were worried about the demise of the ODI. It is definitely not going anywhere. I think what I hate more is the concept of a player playing for multiple teams.

@Giridharan: As I mentioned, reverse sweep was made legit by the T20s. And I don't claim the paddle sweep is a T20 invention.

@Sumant: Thanks!

@Rahul: Hmmm.. Now is that true? What about AD Mascrenhas and Kieren Pollard?

@Sundaram: Hey I think T20 is not really a bad thing. It is change.

@Narsimham: That's a nice analogy. I should have thrown this in there:)

i like NARASIMHAM's comment. coffee might be as appropriate, as in this hustle bustle world, a lot of people try to make it through their day only on coffee!
nice article ram. altho isn't it 10 wkts rather than 11?! sorry to be anal. heh heh

@DT: My bad! 10 wickets it is.

Discovery of slow yorker can not be attribute to T20s. Shoaib Akhtar bowled lots of these, and with great success too, in a Test Series against England in 2006.

I've been hearing a lot about the dilscoop being a T20 invention. Frankly, I don't think that's true. Well before we started talking about "dilscoops" there was a practically identical shot called the shovel shot, often played by Mccullum and Rashid Latif in the late 90s and early 2000s.

"The batting equation has changed considerably. Eleven wickets and twenty overs, instead of fifty overs." (and ten wickets?)

I think Giridhar means to tell new shots which were developed in ODIs between 1990-2005. The short-arm jabs, paddle sweep, slashes over cover etc. The upper cut, if i am right, was first used effectively by Sachin in the Bloemfontein Test in 2001. I would prefer a little more credit to Pollock for the slow bouncer. Neverthless, nice to see an article on T20 focussing only on the game of cricket.

No matter what anyone says but the shortest format of the game has -
1) Led to frequent player burnouts.
2) Degraded the quality of test cricket, some of the test series of the recent past especially involving NZ, WI have been far too lopsided bear in mind that most of their players are T20 specialists.
3) Threatened the existence of ODI's which frankly I prefer over T20 anywhere, anytime !
4) Lot of meaningless contests like Champions League & even IPL for the sake of more & more money etc.
Though I do feel that more international T20 contests should be held & the upper cap that ICC has put on them is a farce considering the number of unofficial tournaments mushrooming out there.

It's a bit unfair calling it Dilshan's shot, since Ryan Campbell (the Australian reserve wicketkeeper) used it several times in the early part of this decade, when Twenty20 was just a glint in the milkman's eye.

@Scott and Chris: Let me rephrase it. The Dilscoop got attention through T20. :)

@churchsyan: I fixed it:D

@yogesh: I agree with all that. If you read the article I have not attributed these (except slow bouncer) to T20.

@R0H1T: Disagree, disagree, disagree and agree.

W.r. 1 is not a fault with the format. It is a issue with the administrators.
W.r. 2 is because WI and NZ are just poor teams. It has nothing to do with T20.
W.r. 3 After the Ind Aus 5th ODI and NZ Pak 3rd ODI I refuse to believe ODI's are going anywhere

I think the origin of the Dilscoop is the Douglas Marillier shot which he played to good effect in India a good few years back before T20 became popular

Adding on to my prev blog- please check the profile update made for Dougie Marillier in 2004 by Cricinfo- twenty 20 was hardly evident at that time "He also showed outstanding improvisational skills in the one-day game, and gained great kudos in Zimbabwe in February 2001 by twice lapping low off-side full-tosses from Glenn McGrath over his shoulder for four in the final over of a Perth one-dayer when 14 were needed (Zimbabwe lost by one run). He repeated the shot with devastating effect in a famous one-day victory over India at Faridabad in 2001-0.

good read. Keep writing dude