Ricky Ponting remains unconvinced on Twenty20 concept

Entertainment Cricket and Other Sports
1

Most Pro’s like Ponting and Wasim have said the same thing…

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22464090-2882,00.html

September 23, 2007 12:00am

AUSTRALIAN captain Ricky Ponting remains unconvinced about the merits of Twenty20 - and cricket fans agree, according to a survey.

As Australia prepared for its Twenty20 World Championship semi-final against India in Durban overnight, Ponting, nursing a hamstring injury, said the format left too much to luck.

“There’s so much luck involved in this shortened form of the game, it’s not always going to be the most skilled team that wins,” he said.

"Often, it might be the team that has the best fortune on any given day or night.

"There is no doubt we’ll be playing more and more Twenty20 as the years roll on.

“Once the tournament is over, and we can sit back and have a look at the whole thing, we’ll have a better handle on the concept.”

And cricket fans seem to agree with the Australian skipper.

A poll of 6000 cricket enthusiasts by cricket website www.baggygreen.com.au revealed 63 per cent of them enjoyed the World Cup in Caribbean earlier this year more than the inaugural Twenty20 championship.

The result is surprising, given the seven-week World Cup had been widely criticised for being too long and lacklustre, while television ratings in Australia for the two-week Twenty20 tournament have been strong.

Interest in the South African series was reflected by broadcaster Channel 9 dropping its flagship show, A Current Affair, last week to televise Australia’s mauling of Sri Lanka.

Cricket officials worldwide have been seduced by Twenty20, believing it is a way of creating wider interest in the game and so greater riches for all involved.

Ponting, though, has questioned what impact the smash-and-run style could have on players.

Meanwhile, the captain will remain with the team when it heads to India next week for a seven-match one-day series, beginning in Bangalore on Saturday.

But he concedes his hamstring strain could be the start of more problems, because of his long-term back injury.

Injury-jinxed allrounder Shane Watson will miss the Indian trip because of another hamstring strain.

2

Re: Ricky Ponting remains unconvinced on Twenty20 concept

This is just poor sportsmanship. Instead of giving India, Pakistan and Zimbabwe their due, he goes on to lay the blame on luck. Move on already man. Twenty20 is the future of cricket and this is the way how it is. In soccer, you don't see teams like Brazil whining after a loss by saying stuff like "If the game was 5 days long, our skills would shine through and we would easily win every game".

3

Re: Ricky Ponting remains unconvinced on Twenty20 concept

Sour Grapes! :omg:

BURNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN :phati:

4

Re: Ricky Ponting remains unconvinced on Twenty20 concept

Angoor khatey hain.

5

Re: Ricky Ponting remains unconvinced on Twenty20 concept

Yes...we can say "sour grapes" and all...

But I personally think he is stating some facts.

Symonds said this too - "It is easier to be good when you have to be good only for a short period of time". That summarizes Twenty20 beautifully. Batsmen can bat with gay abandon when they know their team just needs to last till 20 overs.

ODIs also involve a fair dose of "luck factor" but Twenty20 takes it a few notches higher.

6

Re: Ricky Ponting remains unconvinced on Twenty20 concept

Well not really, it is a new concept get on with it. If Symonds or the Australian team finds it difficult to adapt to it they should work hard at it to improve their tactics instead of wingeing when they cant win. Typical Aussies. If they can't win it, it is not good enough.

7

Re: Ricky Ponting remains unconvinced on Twenty20 concept

We have seen at many occasion that teams DID come back after poor play so saying that "you only have to be good for short period" is wrong. Pakistan and India both have been 40-50 for 4 at many occasions but came back strongly to win the game from there.

Same thing can be said by ODI haters ...who can say 50 overs is very little to judge the team and you have to be good for only one day!

Its just like new squash point system that was invented to take over from Jahangir and Jahsher but Jahangir and Jansher mastered that format too to keep rest of the world at bay for long !

Grapes are sour mate !

8

Re: Ricky Ponting remains unconvinced on Twenty20 concept

So people who are good at Twenty/20 are just tullaybaaz? People like Yovraj, Misbah, Shoaib and Haden are bunch of tullaybaaz and are playing on their luck. That is simply ridicules.

9

Re: Ricky Ponting remains unconvinced on Twenty20 concept

You proved my point exactly.

Yuvraj came to bat yesterday when India were around 40-2 in 9 overs. If it was an ODI...do you think Yuvraj would have straightaway started to hit SIXES and FOURS. But he knew India needed to just bat for 11 more overs, so he had the license to kill.

Actually yes.
For example I have seen enough of Imran Nazir to conclude that he is an out-and-out Tullaybaaz....yesterday he hit sixes and fours off bowlers like Bond and Vettori. Does that mean he is technically gifted. The answer is a resounding NO.

Other batsmen like Yuvraj/Shoaib Malik/Gilchrist/Hayden are naturally gifted to adapt to all formats. And when they get the added freedom provided by the Twenty20 format, they can go berserk....but that does not prove anything.

The fact remains, Twenty20 rewards Tullaybaazs....where somebody like Afridi is preferable over Dravid.

Interview By Dr. LKK - Part-II
10

Re: Ricky Ponting remains unconvinced on Twenty20 concept

He said those comments BEFORE the India game. Like him or not, Ponting is a good sportsman. All the Aussies are.

11

Re: Ricky Ponting remains unconvinced on Twenty20 concept

You are correct. So people can throw the "sour grapes" opinion out of the window. Symonds' comments above was also made before the semi-final.

12

Re: Ricky Ponting remains unconvinced on Twenty20 concept

So you're saying that Twenty20 is faulty because it has a shorter time limit? So who decides what time limit is perfect in order to let talent prevail over fluke? Its not like teams haven't won ODI's on the strict basis of luck. Does that mean ODIs are faulty as well? When Bangladesh beat Australia, did Bangladesh become the better team? In other sports, why don't increase the time limit as well? Crappy teams win games in soccer all the time, although you never see the better teams crying about the format of the match afterwards.

Even with test matches, who decides that 5 days, 2 innings each is the ideal format? Why not 10 days, 4 innings each? How about 30 days, 10 innings each? Fact of the matter is that people don't have time to watch a sporting event for 10 hours anymore. 3-5 hours is the ideal amount of time for a match and Twenty20 satisfies that need.

13

Re: Ricky Ponting remains unconvinced on Twenty20 concept

Which still means that he made those comments after the Zimbabwe and Pakistan match.

14

Re: Ricky Ponting remains unconvinced on Twenty20 concept

^Read my post above. I have said ODI's also allow for "luck factor". But Twenty20 takes it to a new level. I am actually surprised that we didn't have a minnow in the semi-final line-up even though Zimbabwe defeated Australia.

Bottomline : The shorter the game, the greater the chances for a tukka(fluke) victory. There is no optimal time frame, but Tests are certainly a good yard-stick to measure the quality of teams.

If Twenty20 cannot be done without, at least make the finals best of 3 or 5 or 7 (like the World Series Baseball in the US) so the "tukka" factor can be minimized.

15

Re: Ricky Ponting remains unconvinced on Twenty20 concept

Aussies were already in the semi-final when he made the quote. Australia could have very well gone on to win the cup - when the comment was made.

16

Re: Ricky Ponting remains unconvinced on Twenty20 concept

Yes and after the phenti from Zimbawe and Pak.

17

Re: Ricky Ponting remains unconvinced on Twenty20 concept

What phenti....I have no doubt in my mind that Twenty20 format or not, Australia will still defeat India/Pak at least 7 out of 10 times.

18

Re: Ricky Ponting remains unconvinced on Twenty20 concept

Then what's your point??

19

Re: Ricky Ponting remains unconvinced on Twenty20 concept

The best of 7 series ala playoffs in North America is quite unnecessary. In Baseball, inferior teams have won the World Series on various occasions (like the Cardinals last year, who were in no way, shape or form better than...say..... the Yankees). The most successful sporting event in the world, the FIFA World Cup, does not have any "Best of 7 series" stuff. And even When minnows like Korea make the the semi-final, or nations like Greece win the Euro, you don't see the more talented teams criticizing the length of the game.

The point is that flukes are part of the game and you just have to get used to it. That doesn't mean that we should be going to great lengths in match formats in order to avoid flukes. At this point in time, Pak and India have proven that they were better teams during the length of this tournament and they absolutely deserve to be in the finals.

20

Re: Ricky Ponting remains unconvinced on Twenty20 concept

Everybody is fed up with Aussies winning whatever comes their way. I would go on say make it even 10-10 or 5-5 if it gives other teams more chance of winning and making the game more attractive for new entrants of the game.:snooty: