LEFT ARM OVER
NEIL MANTHORP: Bring on T20 circuses to help ensure the theatre of Test cricket survives
Sold-out stadiums ensure the T20 game will dominate the landscape for years, writes Neil Manthorp
Mickey Arthur recently stepped off Pakistan’s tour of Australia for a night to attend a Perth Scorchers match in the Big Bash in his home town. There was a near-capacity crowd and he confessed to enjoying a "great spectacle" before suggesting T20 cricket should be limited to domestic tournaments and World Cups. The evidence of the past seven days in SA suggests Cricket SA would be more likely to agree to a three-Test tour of Afghanistan than scrapping arbitrary T20 internationals at home. Despite every conventional measure of a fixture’s likely commercial success indicating the current three-match series against Sri Lanka would struggle to attract significant interest, the sold-out signs were up at Supersport Park three days before the first game and almost 21,000 packed into the Wanderers to watch Sunday’s low-scoring thriller. Newlands on Wednesday is also a sell-out. The series is "meaningless", the opposition has been woeful and it was a Proteas B team devoid of every one of it...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.