London, June 24: Asserting that Twenty20 will be the future of cricket, former Australian wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist reckons that the game must face up to the reality that some of the world’s best players may put the shortest version before their commitment to Test cricket.
”We’ve very much got to be prepared for that,” Gilchrist said. ”I don’t think it should be a shock when it does happen or if it does happen. In an administrative sense we’ve got to get the planning and scheduling right. The players are crying out to say they want a window for the IPL.
”Ultimately I hope that cricketers don’t have to make a choice.
If we can acknowledge that Twenty20 is here, I hope that players won’t be put in that situation,” Gilchrist was qouted as saying by ‘The Guardian’.
The former swashbuckling opener further added that cricket must fully embrace the shortest format after a successful World Twenty20 and the advent of the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL). ”It’s a dangerous person that ignores it (Twenty20). It’s here,” he quipped.
Referring to the former Australian coach John Buchanan’s statement that the upcoming players would find difficult to adapt to the Test cricket from Twenty20, Gilchrist said, ”I heard John Buchanan say recently that cricketers of the future may well have to learn to adapt from the short version to the long version of the game.
As long as the game’s been played, it’s always been the other way. That may well be the case.” The 37-year-old left-handed batsman was, however, reluctant to criticise England’s all-rounder Andrew Flintoff and middle-order batsman Kevin Pietersen for taking part in the second season of the IPL in South Africa ahead of the Ashes series this season. ”I do understand their interest in wanting to be a part of what’s becoming one of the biggest dates in world cricket, rightly or wrongly. I understand their desire to be a part of it,” he added.
Gilchrist, who led the Deccan Chargers to the title triumph this year after the team’s bottom-finish in the inagural edition of the IPL, maintained that Test cricket is the greatest form of the game. ”I still want international cricket to be the most important cricket. ”I still want Test cricket to survive. To me it is the greatest game of cricket. But cricket can mutate into many different forms without losing the basic constitution of what it’s about. It can provide different things to different people,” he added.
Gilchrist, who retired from international cricket last year, was full of praise for the Australian team, which bounced back strongly after a Test and ODI series loss at the hands of South Africa at home to defeat the Proteas in their own den.
”The team really surprised me in South Africa. I’m very much encouraged by what I see. I think Ricky’s really excited by it and wants to leave that legacy that he was able to form a team from a fresh start,” he said.
However, he felt that without a spinner like a calibre of Shane Warne, Australia may struggle against England in the upcoming Ashes series.
”It’s an area that’s been the greatest difficulty for the team. I personally think they’re going to need a full-time spin bowler.
It’s been difficult. No one has produced unbelievable results,” he said.
—–Agencies