The point he’s trying to make is that cricket administrators across the world will have to learn to strike a balance between the glitzy nature of T20 cricket and the other forms of cricket. In an exclusive interview to Cricinfo a day after the second season of the IPL ended in South Africa, Majola said, "Cricket remains a dynamic sport, and administrators must also be prepared for change if it is needed," he said "There is room for all forms of this great game. With the advent of the IPL and similar tournaments, the FTP is most likely to adjust accordingly."

The FTP, ICC’s Future Tours Programme, recently accommodated the Champion’s Twenty20 League in its schedule, giving the event an annual window. CSA is one of the founding partners of this multi-nation club event that will be held in India in October.

As for fears about Test Cricket, he disdains them as ‘misconceptions’ saying: "South Africa and Australia have recently completed a six-Test, home-and-away series with every match going to the wire and producing a result -- there were no draws. All matches drew full houses and the players responded accordingly with exciting, positive cricket. If this vein continues, Test cricket will stay healthy. I am sure it will also gain from the new generation of spectators coming from the T20 arena. Certainly, T20 has produced a lot more adventure in Test cricket and there is definitely a place in both forms for skilled players."

Speaking of the success of the IPL in South Africa, Majola said, "We always expected to host a successful IPL tournament because we have the expertise, excellent facilities, an equable climate and a cricket-loving public that shows a great penchant for limited-overs cricket. We also had the full support of the South African government from the outset and this made a huge difference. However, taking all these pluses this into account, we never expected that IPL 2009 would be such an enormously resounding success."

 "There is no doubt that the difference between hosting a successful IPL and producing an outstanding one was the expert marketing put into place at short notice by the organizers," he added. "It hit the right note to a public that adores limited-overs cricket and the glamour and glitz of cricketing superstars mixing with Bollywood personalities."

Majola also added that CSA learnt a lot from the IPL: "The single biggest lesson coming out of the 2009 IPL in South Africa is that it is essential that all relevant stake-holders are on board and share the same vision for the event as was the case here. Everybody got behind this event, from the State Presidency to the car park attendants. People helped each other, even to the extent of the media giving mammoth below-the-line support to the formal advertising and marketing programme. The impact was huge. Everybody felt they had ownership of an extremely exciting event."

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3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."

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