CricAddict
Cricketer Of The Year
It is definitely a fact and not just an argument. Many defensive batsmen are changing their game to suit to T20 and playing with a more open stance since that is where the buck is. And once they change their style, it will be very difficult for them to go back to their defensive techniques even if they get selected for tests.From the fourth paragraph:
Simultaneously, there is also an argument that, despite the presence of a few top-class batters, defensive techniques have generally declined due to an excess of 20-over cricket.
Nice to at least see it acknowledged, albeit 'an argument'.
And look at the graph on bowling averages in four year periods - starts its trend down sharply from around 2008, which is when the IPL started and T20 took off with a bang.
If you look at the guys who bowled from 2007-10 (Steyn is a freak with 200 wickets at 21), the likes of Swann, Zaheer Khan, Murali, Johnson, Morkel and Anderson who averaged from 27-29 in that period, would no doubt be in the mid to low 20s from 2018 onwards. The 2007-10 played in an era with guys who honed their games on long form cricket, the guys now are bowling to guys fed on T20 dreams and Test specialists who weren't quite as good as their peers, so specialised.
The big 200s and 300s also requires strong temperament which will be difficult for the impatient T20 boomers.