Shining Short

There should be no reason why Twenty20 cannot be made a regular international affair. In this tremendously competitive cricketing event, batsmen and bowlers try to outwit each other with greater relentlessness than ever before and only those with the best cricketing skills can make this version their own, where adaptability and quick-thinking are the key-words. So far as the hue and cry over the technical tantrums of the game are concerned, it is now accepted that scoring runs and taking wickets are primary things in cricket, and there is no point in harping over how they come. Even in Test matches the average run rate is steadily heading towards the four runs per over mark. And stemming the flow of the runs is best done in one-dayers by taking wickets. That is why there is a definite trend towards keeping fielders in attacking positions even after the fifteen-over period of fielding restriction is over. Thus, all-out attack is the mantra of modern cricket and Twenty20 epitomizes it.

Even in the era of short stories, novels have retained their popularity. On similar lines, Twenty20, one-dayers and Tests can co-exist with peace.