Keep spinners out of T20, say Australian players

Melbourne: The Australian Cricketers Association has found out from a survey of player attitudes towards Twenty20 cricket that if quality spinners have to be preserved then they should not be thrown into the shortest and the trendiest form of the game, the Australian media reports.

A report in The Age says while the super-abbreviated format has gained credibility even among traditionalists, there is a strong view among Australian players that it threatens to destroy budding spin bowlers.

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Among players contracted to Cricket Australia, 64 per cent said Twenty20 diminishes spin bowling skills. “Anecdotally players believe T20 encourages negative bowling and as such is counter-productive to the development of spinners,” the study found.

That argument was wholeheartedly endorsed last night by spin bowling mentor Terry Jenner, the day after chairman of selectors Andrew Hilditch said he was disappointed in the development of young South Australian pair Dan Cullen and Cullen Bailey, who are contracted to Cricket Australia but have been unable to nail their spots with the state side let alone press for national selection.

Jenner refused to discuss Hilditch’s remarks, but the man who coached Shane Warne throughout his exceptional career has consistently argued that young spinners take time to mature to the point where they can defend themselves in the first-class arena, and that limited-overs cricket is their enemy.

“There is no place for a developing spin bowler in Twenty20 cricket,” Jenner said. “In my view, you might as well bowl Michael Clarke and all those (part-time) guys in those forms of the game because the outcomes are pretty much the same.’’

“I watched (Indian off-spinner) Harbhajan Singh in the Twenty20 final and I reckon he bowled 90km/h plus from wide of the crease. He was effective, but picture a developing spinner trying to do that and he would be lessening his capacity to improve.”

Jenner believes Twenty20 in England, where it was first played at domestic level, has inhibited the development of spin bowlers in that country. “If we are looking for Test cricketers we are not going to find them in Twenty20 and, dare I say this, we’re not going to find them in 50-over cricket either,” he said.

Yeareneder 2007

“Someone who spins the ball should not be encouraged to take away his spin to try and bowl four overs and go for less than 50. They may as well roll out a bowling machine.”

In general, state and national players believe Twenty20 enhances skill development, with spin bowling the exception. Interestingly, state-contracted players were less inclined to think that Twenty20 was damaging for young tweakers.

Australia’s premier one-day spinner, Brad Hogg, has not played a Twenty20 international since last summer, while other teams have persevered with spinners.

New Zealand skipper and left-arm finger spinner Daniel Vettori, for instance, thinks there is a place for spin bowling in the shortest form of the game. In fact, he believes they will flourish. “If you look at the (Twenty20) World Cup, spinners were some of the most successful bowlers. And every time I have watched a game or played in a game spinners held quite a bit of control not only over wicket-taking but over run-rate,” Vettori said.

“I think they are going to be a more and more important part of it. We’re playing two, we even played two at the WACA (Ground). We realise how important it (spin) is and I think other teams are seeing it around the world as well.”

50-overs game gone: Warne

SHANE WARNE believes the days of 50-over cricket are numbered as the Twenty20 game alters the way the sport is played and watched over the world.

The former Australia bowling star, who retired from international cricket at the start of the year, wants one-day internationals shortened to 40 overs per side _ a form of cricket that has proven successful at domestic level in England.

Warne’s views come at a time when public interest in 50-over cricket seems to be waning.

This year’s World Cup in the Caribbean was poorly attended, while crowd numbers for the Chappell-Hadlee series _ held in Adelaide, Sydney and Hobart and won on Thursday by Australia _ were down.

“Twenty20 is how minor nations, the likes of Canada and Holland, can improve and promote the game,” Warne said.

“One thing I believe is that 50-overs is gone. I believe Twenty20 should be one form of the game, keep that to a minimum and keep it special because it is so entertaining.

“Just as long as administrators don’t get greedy. But I believe 50-overs competition should now be 40 overs, so we have a 40-over competition, Twenty20 and Test cricket.

“Experiencing Pro40 in England, it’s like two Twenty20 games. The way society is, everybody wants everything fast. Pro40, there is still skill involved.

“Is it cricket? Is it entertainment? It ticks all the boxes. It also saves you about an hour and a half of the game.

“You can start Pro40 at 4pm and be finished at 10pm. That’s good. You can have a day game as well, starting at 10am and finish at 4pm, and have two games a day.”

Although Warne fears for the future of 50-over cricket, he believes Test cricket is in good health and should not be tinkered with.

“Everything is very good, don’t change it, don’t touch it. Test cricket is for tradition,” said Warne, who claimed 708 Test wickets to be second on the all-time list behind Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralidaran.