Aussie coach Nielsen is of the view that the powers that be need to end the ‘exhibition status’ that T20 cricket currently seems to occupy in international cricket. So far the tendency has been to fit in one or at the most two T20 matches around the rest of the matches in a series which would typically be a series of test matches and a series of one day internationals. Nielsen is of the view that the time has now come to schedule regular three to five game series rather than the one off T20 games that are usually the feature of an international cricket series.

Reportedly Australia have played 21 matches - six of them at the inaugural World Twenty20 in South Africa. That is the most of any team in world cricket, yet still well short of the 122 ODIs and 46 Tests the Australians have played over the same period, which gives us an idea that T20 cricket is still regarded as something of a last priority in international cricket.

Nielsen gave the example of how the T20 World Cup has gained recognition and popularity and also cited the example of the Indian Premier League and the huge success it has met with, to demonstrate how big T20 cricket is becoming. "If they're fair dinkum about Twenty20 cricket - and when you look at everything that's happening around the world, they should be - then we have to get to a point where we're no longer just squeezing Twenty20 internationals into the schedule as exhibition matches. They've had a couple of bucks each way so far. We have a tournament like the World Twenty20, which is growing in importance, but for the rest of the cycle games are scheduled as one-offs, and used to get new spectators through the gates,” Nielsen was reported as having said in the cricket news.

Nielsen expressed the view that T20 cricket needs to be given more credibility and if a real competition is made out of it. As of now, not a lot of the team’s attention is paid to the scheduled T20 game(s); rather the players would be focusing on the tests or ODIs. Going into the T20 World Cup, Nielsen is aware that his team does not perhaps have enough T20 experience under their belts.

"At the moment, the World Twenty20 is really the only way to gauge teams' 20-over form. The other games are usually one-offs, and if you're on the other side of the world, it can be a costly exercise bringing the players you want over. We flew two or three players over to South Africa specifically because we had two Twenty20s there, but with only one in the UAE [against Pakistan], we stayed with the same squad from the ODI series," said Nielsen.

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

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