How are the sceptics feeling?

[Langeveldt]

I still hate T20, the whole brashness, lack of charm and subtlety means that it will never win over my heart. If cricket needs dancing girls for it to be a valid form of entertainment, then it is no game of mine..

BUT, I've been so glad to watch a decent spectacle put on by the ICC.. Some good games of cricket were played, and it was genuinely nice to see some non cricket fans become interested and develop loyalties with certain players and teams. It was hard not to be moved by the Indians, Pakistanis and Zimbabweans in these last couple of weeks. SA put on a show it should be proud of.. And if we have to put up with this T20 beast now, let it be for the good of the game as a whole, and with some more games like that final, please

 

[silentstriker]

I was always more in favor of T20 compared to ODI, but the whole competition was full of fantastic games and that alone made it infinitely better than the WC.

 

[Richard]

I hope people learn from the organisation of the tournament, certainly, the best-organised global tournament we've seen since, probably 1992. In fact pretty much certainly.

Didn't make me like Twenty20 any more, obviously.

 

[Perm]

I was never really a sceptic, but as you said Langeveldt, I'm so glad that we seen a great tournament put on by the ICC. South Africa should feel proud.

 

[SJS]

It was fun to watch as are the highlights of the odi matches I miss and watch in a concise form the next day.

But just as the highlights, even those I see without knowing the final result in advance, they are never the same, for me at least, as the original.

I can understand that for those who keep missing all the matches due to time and other constraints, T20 is better than the highlights of a 50-50 game but I am afraid I dont see it as more than that.

I am afraid, besides the fact that history was made, I prefer Dravid's, Tendulkar's, Ponting's, Anwar's, Inzy's, Laxman's, Mark Waugh's drives, cuts. pulls, glides and flicks to Yuvraj's sixes any day.

Yes I will watch T20 but will always wait for the test matches and to a lesser extent for the odi's. And if, as I still worry, the game does change due to this format, the skill sets that is, I am afraid I may watch much less cricket one day as I have done so far for whats getting close to half a century.

The loss is mine - I know - and I will be the one mourning it.

If not, I will also celeberate the discovery of another game that I enjoy watching besides cricket.

 

[silentstriker]

Same as you SJS, except I'll always wait for Tests and dread the ODIs.

 

[FaaipDeOiad]

Essentially I think it was a good, well organised tournament but I didn't like the cricket. I feel the same way about 20/20 itself as I did before the tournament, and the same way I have ever since I saw a few games.

 

[SJS]

Same as you SJS, except I'll always wait for Tests and dread the ODIs.

Yes you are not too wrong. They are getting to be a bit painful. But there is hope for them I think, if only we would go back to original boundary lengths for one.

I would like to see the restriction on the number of overs a bowler can bowl to be removed or modified. At least two (if not three) bowlers should be allowed to bowl 15 overs each. This will reduce the number of bits-and-pieces players we see around.

There could be others to make the bowlers come back a bit.

 

[Mister Wright]

I was fairly engaged in this tournament, and it surprised me how interested I was in it. I still have bad experiences going to see a live 20/20 so not sure I'd play the big bucks to see one live, but will definitely watch on TV.

 

[jot1]

I hope people learn from the organisation of the tournament, certainly, the best-organised global tournament we've seen since, probably 1992. In fact pretty much certainly.

Old wickie for South Africa, David Richardson, played a big role here.

 

[Richard]

So it was Richardson and Stephen Elworthy?

 

[Agent TBY]

So it was Richardson and Stephen Elworthy?

I feel old knowing those names.

 

[Richard]

Don't worry, kid - I remember PS de Villiers (very vaguely).

 

[Pup Clarke]

If that's Fanie De Villiers I can say that I've never seen him bowl in my life which is a great shame as I've heard that he was a top bowler.

 

[Richard]

It is. You'd have been about 3 or 4 when his career ended in earnest. I only vaguely remember him (and Richardson) from 1994.

 

[Agent TBY]

Don't worry, kid - I remember PS de Villiers (very vaguely).

I do too. Disturbingly, I also remember that he was quite the javelin thrower.

 

[jot1]

So it was Richardson and Stephen Elworthy?

Yes. Richardson is the general manager of the ICC and had a huge hand in whole thing.

 

[Richard]

I was gonna say, I thought I'd not heard anything about Richardson leaving his I$C$C position.

 

[the_last_rites]

I used to be a big fan of Fanie. My god he could torment batsman like the best of em. That mofo made life miserable for the likes of Azharuddin, Amre, Manjrekar and lord knows who else in our first tour of SA. Him and Craig Mathews were the best when it came to containing batsmen but at the same time taking wickets. Sigh those were the times I used to love watching SA play just as much as India. **** come to think of it even people like Kirsten and Kuiper are fresh in my mind. Pringle too but thats because Sreenath blew his eye out with a bouncer and he had to be stretchered off with a bleeding eye. He was sporting a very puffed up black eye for months after that.

 

[Richard]

And as for that Allan Donald...