Oh boohoo ! Why follow/watch T20 cricket if you don't like it ?

Well..To avoid that, the test cricketers should be paid 10 times the match-fee for a T20 game and the no of T20s, one-days and Tests should be equal each year. No doubt, these classic players are slogging only get those "few hundred thousand dollars".

Yes Sambit, this is what cricket has come to. And we--the media, the public and the IPL-wallahs--are complicit. I am told we have to live it.

Every type of Cricket has different Kind of Ugliness.

It is too easy to sit aside and judge the awkwardness based on a couple of innings.
It is the captains call to include a player and its upto the player to deliver. When the thoughts are not clear it always middles in the middle of even the classiest of players.

Not all players are blessed with the 'knack' to make a call about what they are comfortable at and what they are not.

Damien Martyn and VVS Laxman seem awkward in T20 but so was Kallis in the first edition. Its upto the player to measure upto the class they have carved for themselves in traditional cricket.

If anyone can answer this question will be Damien Martyn or Laxman themselves

prove ur worth martyn

Martyn is really a waste of money for the royals ,shane warne has jst chosen hi australian team mate to pass his time in dressing room smoothly.

yeah...it was pity to see Martyn's unmartynish acts. He has been one of those whose batting oozes elegance and nonchalance. But sadly he sacrificed arts in the quest of brutality. Batters like Laxman, Jayawardene, Martyn are very much soothing to the eyes as the derive maximum result with minimum of fuss. But T20 is forcing them to make some ugly adjustment to their game(But Jayawardene has not sacrifice his elegance as we see). Perhaps Ganguly is also facing the same problem. After watching a wild slog from VVS, Harsha Vogle said "Lata Mangeshkar shouldn't try her hand at rock n roll." This is the essence of our discussion. Let the artist be taciturn in their own way.

It is heart breaking to watch an artist of Marthyn's calibre struggle, and it's not that we don't want him in the IPL, we'd take his strokes over slogs anyday, but when it's time to caress it's not the IPL...not in India at least...

It's time payments for test cricket are at least 4 to 5 times of an ODI and 10 times of a T20I. That might make players who don't get to play shorter forms of the game, not needing to earn quick bucks and some limelight in T20 leagues. But of course economics might not let it happen. We, who find greatest joy in watching a touch artist at work or in a gripping contest between bat and ball of an absorbing test match, can only wish that our greatest source of sensual nourishment will not be snatched away from us.

I expect writers like Sambit Bal to get their facts right. Warne's partner in dressing room were
1. Darren Lehmann in the 1st
2. Justin in 2nd.
3. Martyn in 3rd.
Lehmann played few games in 1st IPL but was coach of Deccan in the 2nd.

Marto, please avoid T20 though i would love you to prove me wrong. I enjoyed you bat a lot in those days and it feels awkward to see struggling to time the ball. Probably opening the batting might help you in finding those gaps but i still believe that slogging is not just your business. You are the most elegant batsman i have seen live and hate to see you in this avataar.

I think it just takes a little bit longer for players like Martyn and Laxman to get into their groove in IPL cricket. Damien Martyn averaged well into the 40's in ODI cricket and that shows that he is capable in the shorter versions of the game. If you remember, just a few years ago Jacques Kallis was under so much pressure in ODI and 20/20 cricket because of his batting and look at him now. Same goes with Dravid and the the revitalized Tendulkar. It's still early days in the IPL and if Dameien Martyn can come in at three for the rest of the games, I think he could end up playing the role of anchor pretty well.

1st edition it was Darren lehman
and
2nd it was Langer ....u posted wrong buddy

It's not like his team mates did any better! It would have been a tough initiation to the IPL.
Credit should go to RC who bowled really well!

Sambit, why not change the T20 game to suit the likes of Laxman, Martyn, Clarke, Mark Waugh or Gavaskar, rather than saying these players should not play T20?

These are some key change I would like to see
1) Increase the length of the boundaries. Especially the straight boundaries. like the huge oval stadiums they used to have in Australia. ban venues with short boundaries from hosting T20 matches. Watching Greatbatch hitting sixes over short boundaries is not going to give pleasure to even the most ardent fan of Sixers

2)Prepare pitches with bounce (not necessarily fast - just bouncy) so that pull and hook become difficult. Only talented players can play them.

"Now why did cricket have to come to this?". Don't need to make this statements. You got to wait and see till the IPL ends.

Sachin showed that class and technique can play its part in T20. Sachin played a veriety of shots in his 63 against Delhi. You don't have to resort to wild slogs and untidy plays to succeed in T20. i thorougly enjoyed watchin Sachin's innings. I hope other players can follow suit

"Now why did cricket have to come to this?". - This is just T20 cricket. This is not the real game. Just watch these players in ODIs & Tests. Don't have to worry about Cricket. Looks like you are not getting enough excitement from these players.

That should have read: "Live with it". Sorry for the typo.

You know the utterly ridiculous thing is that the IPL is to all purposes and intents a domestic league and yet because of the bias of CricINDfo it gets more coverage than an international match. Come on Mr Bal, surely this space could be better used in writing even about the ICC Intercontinental trophy rather than this laughable league.

@Avinash,
Show some respect. Sambit is the best ever writer i have ever read. The choice of words,the neutrality,the article flow,the content and most importantly teh eloquence makes him the best writer. I wish had he been a cricket commentator, he d hav been a legend..

very truely said

It is not pitiful but shameful to watch martyn in ipl. He wld have continued happyly wth his paid 5 star vacation but for unfortunate injury breakout at RR. On top of tht the biger picture is warne and martyn r utilising the ipl cleverly to project there business interest from underwear to personel websites and trvel plans via twitter and other means. Martyn even ditributes 2 ipl tickets for people who visit his website. This is jst not cricket. Remisent of Mr buchanan and hs large support staff anybody. This is bordering on the verge of ridicule. But why shld we bother if the owners who r ready to bid and play millions r happy..

Everyone struggles with practicality vs true game. his game is forced to change to practicality.

These players are class players you cant compare them with what they are doing in IPL .. But think the other way around do any of IPL young can play like these guys play in test or they can play the great knocks?? $$$$$$$$$ all over ;)

it is not about money for many cricketers. At least for VVS Laxman

it is for pride and passion
and if an indian doesnt represent the tournament of indian board, its shame on their part
VVS declined Icon status to allow Deccan Chargers bid for players with higher calibre with more money
so he was not for money at all
dont blame them that they are playing for money

but yes, they are getting money out of it

You do need a Martyn to steady an innings occasionally - with the surfeit of T20s, some innings do not even last 20 overs. Class will prevail - I see all kinds of posts glorifying T20 at the expense of Test cricket and it takes me to my pre-teen days when we indulged in french cricket, gully cricket and, as a 4-5 year old fantasized hitting every ball for a 4 or 6 - that is what T20 ultimately is - juvenile cricket. Bowlers are fodder in the overall scheme of things - one has to look at tennis where maturity and better sense prevailed - when Sampras and co. were belting aces at Wimbledon and no rally lasted more than a half-dozen, they decided to make the balls heavier at Wimbledon and a purist gets more joy watching a battle between players - in cricket that means a balance between bat and ball. I see enough posts of pilloring Aussie players chasing the dollar to India - the ones to blame are the Indian public who would throw obscene amounts of money at this juvenile entertainment.

So Martyn cannot cut it in T20. He should probably be dropped. T20 does not become wrong format just because Martyn or someone else cannot master it. There are still many others who have the aggression and poise necessary to dominate here and the games are still a lot of fun to watch. In fact, for people with young children, T20 is a better option as a game does not consume an entire day.

well martyn can be successful at ipl if rajasthan has good batters around him. correct he hasnt played for a few years but class is always permanent. he was one of the most natural batsmen the game has ever seen.

There is often a confusion among many that those who put tests over a T20 should not watch T20 or should not criticize. Don't you ever go to a movie Bala Kritikeshan and then criticize it? Or don't you have your most favorites and second favorite and so on? For me for example Cricket has been my life since I was not even in my teens. I enjoy all forms and know you get something different out of each. If you pay attention, discussion here is about not having to see a master of one form, having to do something he could do without. It’s not about that a Yusuf Pathan or David Warner should not play T20 or T20 should not be played. I am allowed to 'love classical' and 'like rap' and feel sad too on seeing my classical maestro doing a cheapo rap.

yeah mate, why ? you know, jim once sang - money beats soul every time. we have greedy men in control. men who do not love the game but its consequences, which they have the graft and the will and the means to subvert to their enormous advantage. and the roman love of glaidators stays alive in us, making us gobble up the murder served on the plate - of the game we love .

The players have their own style to play and attack. Its left to the franchaises to select the good player for their team. The simple fact is U cant compare sachin , sanath , rahul with Martyn.. There are 2 types of batsman in world. One sachin, rest the others.

I believe the likes of Laxman and Martyn can actually do well if they stick to their game. Just because it's T20, you don't have to play "ugly". But, can one explain to me what's "ugly"? Some of the slogs are results of good improvisations..and only the real good ones could improvise well...anywayz, as i was saying, if VVS & Martyn stick to their own style..elegance, they can succeed in T20 as well...I'm sure these guys know how to hit 6s and 4s without slogging.

p.s. i loved to watch damien martyn bat, even though he hurt us a lot . i m glad i did'nt watch him this time . i watch the ipl because i want to see every time tendulkar bats ... wherever .. for whatever .

I don't understand how come Sachin is being compared with rest of these guys. Sachin is good enough to walk into any T20 side in the world. He has never been just a classically orthodox. Get you facts right. Before Sehwag and his brand of newcomers(Dhoni, Yusuf Raina etc.) , he was the only guy in the indian team who look threatening. He is more of a Richards than a Gavaskar.

Very well written... almost exactly what my dad (a test cricket fan) was telling me while watching that game. I mean, why would someone of Martyn's class do something as silly as playing a slam-bam cricket, when both age and skill (slog) isn't on his side... He should know better.

With retirement in lurking.. even the touch artists need a good bank balance. Alas, its painful to see classy cricketers struggle amongst the bunch of rowdies.

Well martyn has played one match and has more runs so far than the so called superstar yuviraj singh who has batted 3 times.

All you guys who're complaining about Laxman and Martyn, take a look at Dravid's 50 in 2009 and Kallis' transformation. And T20 is not for purists who wanna go ooh aah at the beauty of the shot. It's a different type of cricket. just live with it or stop watching it, You're whining way too much. Did someone shove a TV down your throat and ask you to watch it? Get on with your lives. AND THAT APPLIES TO YOU TOO SAMBIT.

Martyn can come up good.Who said so he cannot play T20 format..guys he is an Australian side dont forget those days.He played with gretest legend like Waugh brothers,Ricky,Bevan,Gil and Haydos.. still yet to find himself in the groove. But as far as Laxman is considered no way of improving himself.I would say he is a good test player.Thats it

People shouldn't pass judgement based on 1 innings. It is the first time he's picked up a bat for a competitive match for probably 2 years. Let's wait a few games and see what happen - his class may yet shing through

Aren't we passing a judgment too soon , Martyn has played just a single match here , that too when hardly anyone from his team performed and the pressure was enormous , lets give it some time to declare him a complete failure , sometimes even the best are clueless.

Let's face it - Martyn has only played a couple of innings so far so just may need a bit of time to adjust to match conditions. He hasn't played any top grade cricket for a few years bar the ICL which was a retirement village for old players.

Don't ever judge a cricketers performance by 20-20. Its just a power game with no skill involved. U can't take like this about players like Martyn, Laxman. When they were in their earlier age or in Test cricket they are the best.. Just tell me whether u can actually hit a ball..Test cricket is the best. Judge the performance on it and not by 20-20 movie like game which is not a game at all..See the skill in players like Martyn, Laxman etc...They can even write articles like this..but can u play cricket??I hope you understand it and the last thing u should remember : Criticizing is always simple...

Why pick on Martyn? There are so many high profile players still struggling to put bat to ball. Sadly no one talks about players like Yuvaraj and what about Dilshan who was the toast of the last season? Clearly it takes time for players who are not on the treadmill .Symonds who was going through the motions has started to pitch in and how.Did anyone see Kallis play in the first edition ? So Sambit before you write Martyn off remember that the IPL is in India, Martyn is an amazing player of spin and will come into his own. I think you need to remember that is all about cost benefit and at 50,000 dollars he probably will make much better sense than KP or Flintoff did and Sambhit he played really well in the last edition of ICL and led his team to the title.As far as Laxman is concerned he is being saved by Gilchrist"s fireworks.This game is all about money, the IPL at least and I do not see why we should grudge former greats making some money, they have given us enormous enjoyment .

The twenty-over game is tedious.

Who cares? His career is over, he's getting several years' pay to struggle for a month. He can't possibly do anything as ugly as his 1994 Sydney Test innings (or if he does, he can't inflict it on us for anywhere near as long) so consider it a very, very abridged testimonial year. This article should have been 90% Warne, 10% Martyn, not the other way around, as that's where the blame lies.

I take it none of you saw his 96 (56) in Brisbane vs South Africa in 2006? He's more than capable enough.

that so many young educated Indiand have been won over by the Modi blitz is sad but cricket is a dying game and i guess T-20 had to come along to put the game out of its misery. The IPl will fold in a couple of years but then that is what its founders intended all along.

Sambit Bal wasn't really complaining when England were hosting one T20 tournament after another. This deliberate smearing of the IPL was started by the English and Aussie press who had their thunder stolen by an upstart. The Indian 'writers' (never known for their originality) cottoned on to the idea and went with it. How hard is it to switch off? Save your sycophantic sermons for your masters and spare us your regurgitation of the English press, Sambit.

It is worth remembering two things: first, Martyn scored 89 off 50-odd balls playing in Australia's 1st or 2nd 20T match, and his ODI strike-rate of 80 suggests he knows how to find the boundaries. Second: Martyn's 'power strokes' are the pull and especially the cut strokes (he was reared on the bouncy WACA wicket in Perth). His power game isn't suited to the low and slow wickets of India. But he'll adapt - give him a chance.

So many gunny bags are being carried around in every IPL team. What are DuPreez, Steven Smith, George Bailey, Ntini, Mitch Marsh, McGrath, McDonald, Parnell, Henriques, JUan Theron, Dilhara, Ryan McLaren, Napier, Lumb, Martyn.... are doing in IPL? IPL bosses are wasting 1000s of $s on them. Why so much of charity? I feel only Delhi and Chennai got it right in terms of getting good domestic players first.

When T20Is were new, Damien Martyn opened the innings for Australia and played a hell of an innings. He has all the skills for T20s and will become an asset once he gets his eye in. I think it will also take Warnie a few games until he gets his bowling right. Hopefully by then it isn't too late.

Lax and Marto have proved themselves in the test arena... and i think they should have the dignity and stay away from T20. Both of them are great crickets.. no doubt.. and that is exactly why they should save all the embarrassment of playing ugly heaves in T20 cricket

Martyn is way past his prime and is running on borrowed legs.Laxman will come good soon, he is a class act and plz get your facts right Sambit

I think all of you have forgotten the innings Martin played against India in 2003 WC finals. Also,Laxman has played few good one day innings in Australia. Both of them can survive.It is just a matter of time. Not only batsman, some good bowlers in Test cricket are struggling in the T20 format.Why no one noticed it. Many of the godd balls in test cricket are 'SIX' balls in T20. So don't watch T20 to watch the beauty of cricket , watch it for fun and some entertainment like cinema

it depends of what is the exact meaning of ugliness. If you break it down it may end up like saying the most beautifull women in the world are miss world winners - which is not true, right? Also, someone watching t20 may be less of an expert than test, so that action may seem not ugly. just suck it up and live with it.

really surprised by Martyn's signing by RR. Aussie mateship gone too far, if you ask me. But Martyn's probably going to come back as a coach/trainer in IPL 4 or 5. Thats the way it rolls.

Laxman and Martin not made for T20...too slow for the race...

IPLT20 season 3 is about 33% complete and we have some very interesting finds ala Kallis, Tendulkar and Murli. Zindabad the old brigade.

It is too easy to sit aside and judge the awkwardness based on a couple of innings.
It is the captains call to include a player and its upto the player to deliver. When the thoughts are not clear it always middles in the middle of even the classiest of players.

Not all players are blessed with the 'knack' to make a call about what they are comfortable at and what they are not.

Damien Martyn and VVS Laxman seem awkward in T20 but so was Kallis in the first edition. Its upto the player to measure upto the class they have carved for themselves in traditional cricket.

It is too easy to sit aside and judge the awkwardness based on a couple of innings.
It is the captains call to include a player and its upto the player to deliver. When the thoughts are not clear it always middles in the middle of even the classiest of players.

Not all players are blessed with the 'knack' to make a call about what they are comfortable at and what they are not.

Damien Martyn and VVS

@Prateek : valid point, but IMO this article is just one of the far too many rants against T20 cricket. The last sentence "Why does it have to come to this" is an expression (in our music analogy) of sadness at the arrival of rap, rather than a classical musicians interpretation of it.