20/20 CRICKET

The world 20/20 cricket championship has just finished in the Caribbean. England comfortably beat Australia in the final to win their first world title (at either 20/20 or the 50 over game), since limited overs cricket was introduced during the mid-1970's.

The 20/20 form of the game is undoubtedly exciting, with lots of fours and especially sixes. Cricket purists think it is a sort of agricultural slugfest, not much better than pub cricket on the village green. Yet it is worth remembering that those batsmen who did best in the tournament - Jayawardene, Gayle, Pietersen, Mike Hussey - are all established test cricketers with high batting averages. They just put a bit more oomph into it when time is in short supply. What really seems to have made the difference was tight bowling and excellent fielding, which are also required in test matches.

The crowds seem to have enjoyed themselves (though they would probably have been a good deal larger if the West Indies had made the semi-finals). And the tournament marked the debut on the international stage of Afghanistan. They lost both their two group matches and so went home early, but the miracle was that they were there at all.

Walter Blotscher