When Twenty20 cricket was introduced by the Wales and England Cricket Board in 2003, the comments were varying as it relates to the impact that it would have on the two existing versions of the game.

POWELL... played in inaugural Twenty20 match between Digicel and cable & Wireless at Kensington

Two years later Twenty20, it would appear, will be the newest version in the sport of cricket, as the organisers have set out to reposition the sport as a fun-filled family fiesta, packed with loads of entertainment.

And so far, cricket's newest version is proving to be a very successful venture, racking up the largest attendance at Lord's - 26,500, excluding a one-day final, since 1953, when Middlesex played Surrey in a county match on July 15, 2004.

Also on January 12, 2005, the first Twenty20 game played in Australia between the Western Warriors and the Victorian Bushrangers at the WACA had a sellout crowd of 20,700.

Now, for the first time, the vastly growing and popular Twenty20 cricket came officially onshore last weekend when the Business House Cricket Board staged the first Digicel-sponsored Twenty20 cricket competition aimed at recommitting cricket lovers to a game that is said to to be "too drawn out" or just "boring".

Eight teams took part in this year's inauguration, which took on a straight knock-out format, and already the Jamaican cricket fans have embraced the new concept of Twenty20 cricket.

International thing

"Twenty20 seems to be an international thing now, so I think it is a good idea to start at this level, so we can get acquainted with the game," said Wembley Brown, who was at Kensington watching the Twenty20 match between Cable & Wireless and Digicel.

"Eventually, the crowds will go up if the standard goes up and more of the stars come out, it will attract crowds. It is the way to go, and I think they should probably try and introduce it to the schools," he said.

The crowd was definitely bigger than the regular two-day or 50-over match at Kensington's first ever Twenty20 match, while the main sponsor feted the spectators with lots of goodies.
But while that drew the spectators' attention, it was the 'golden over' where the batsman can only be out via the run-out route that caught Derrick Nelson's attention.

"It seems quite interesting and most importantly I'm interested by the 'golden over' that I find to be very innovative and should provide a lot of entertainment," Nelson said.

"If you come in this particular case and one side has scored 140-odd runs, it is very likely that people would find this very entertaining, because you'll have to score very fast to get that amount of runs. so from that standpoint, I think it is very entertaining and should attract more crowds to cricket."

Pulling large crowds has always been the case for the money spinners in every sport, and the organisers in Twenty20 cricket are no different.

Aside from the large turnouts, some fans believe Twenty20 is a watered-down version of the game that could see the abandonment of good technique, team strategy and planning throughout a match and the reduction in workable tactical options for various situations that may arise in a game.

Too rigid

But according to Wayne Campbell, cricket has become too rigid over the years. "I think it is a good introduction. What it has done is to shorten the game of cricket for a lot of people. Spectators can now come for a shorter period and get a packed entertaining day," he reasoned.

"It is not a watered-down version because you must remember that at first the limited-overs started as 60 overs before it went down to 50. it's just that it's more exciting as far as I'm concerned," said Nolan Aiken.

It is obvious that Twenty20 cricket is created to fill a perceived marketing vacancy left by the Test and One-day games. Rather than having a full day's play, there is more focus to excite the gathering with aggressive batting, which is always eye-catching.
According to Maurice Clarke, "Given the nature and status of cricket in the West Indies now, anything to provide some entertainment... is always a welcome thing.

"...I think it is a very good move and it has created a good impact because if you look around there is a good crowd, so it seems that Twenty20 is here to stay.
"It's a spectator's game and I think they should do everything to improve it and I think it could be one of the things to uplift cricket in the region," he said.

"What we are trying to do is to bring back the crowds to cricket and look at any ideas that we can find to really encourage fans to really turn back to cricket," said Cosmo Grant, the president of the Business House Cricket Board.

"We're hoping to bring something new to it and to encourage the crowds to come out and to enjoy themselves, and off course to forge better relations through the game of cricket."

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