AS the Indian Premier League and Twenty20 cricket grow in popularity, there doesn't seem to be a drop in cyncism among former players.
AS the Indian Premier League and Twenty20 cricket grow in popularity, there doesn't seem to be a drop in cyncism among former players.
Two of the game's best known names in the art of batting South African Graeme Pollock and Australian Neil Harvey have slammed T20 cricket.
Asked by the Independent on Sunday whether he enjoys watching cricket now, Johannesburg-based Pollock said: "I don't get the same pleasure.
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South African batting legend Graeme Pollock |
Cricket has become far too financial and I am not a 20-overs-a-game guy.
If it wasn't for the big money, I'd be surprised if any of the guys said they enjoyed 20/20. It's a huge money-making thing but it's just a slog and it's out of proportion to the game itself."
Pollock, the uncle of Shaun, who coached Mumbai Indians in the IPL this year, revealed that even fellow batting great Barry Richards is no fan of Twenty20 cricket.
"I was talking to Barry Richards about it and he said, why not just have a bowling machine and see who can hit the ball the furthest.
"My concern is that 50-over cricket changed Test cricket because guys started to hit over the top. Once they start getting deeply into 20/20 cricket, it will affect every other form of the game.
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I don't want to see a player get 50 in 60 balls in a Test match, there is a huge difference in the skills required to play the five-day game."
Harvey, one of the few survivors of Don Bradman's 1948 Invincibles told Australian Broadcasting Corporation recently that Twenty20 is a huge threat to the traditional game.
"There's got to be a threat mainly because of this IPL where there is so much money involved.
People try and tell you they play for the love of the game. To me, that's a lot of rubbish. They play because of how much they can get out of it," said Harvey.
