Twenty20 cricket was first introduced in 2003 by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) as a novel way to add more excitement to the game and bring in more audiences. However, the response to this short, intense and fast paced form of cricket was unprecedented, and the world was swept over by it only too soon. Suddenly it has emerged as the post popular form of cricket. On certain levels it even overrode the popularity of Test Cricket and One Day Internationals. So many cricketers find playing Twenty20 cricket a much more lucrative option to playing Test cricket.

With Championships like the IPL and the Champion’s Twenty20 League, the popularity of Twenty20 cricket continues to soar amidst fears that it will soon replace the older forms of the game. Of course the ECB never intended for that to happen. So many cricketers have expressed their concerns over the waning popularity of the other formats. A while ago Paul Collingwood said: "Maybe in the future today's young players will prioritise one-day and Twenty20.

"We have to be careful. If you can get 10 times the money for playing a few weeks of Twenty20 than for months of mental torture in the Ashes, then I'm afraid to say some people would take the first option." However now everyone is taking the right steps to see that that does not happen.

Even cricket administrators in India were apprehensive about Twenty20 cricket at the beginning; but that was only till India won the World Twenty20 Cup in 2007. This year Sachin Tendulkar has backed out of the world Twenty20 squad with the intention of focusing his career on Tests and One Day Internationals. Tendulkar does believe that fatigue plays an important factor in Twenty20 cricket. And it is true that back to back matches could take their toll on the players. With the World Cup starting soon after the IPL was over, Tendulkar warns that it is important that openers Yuvraj and Gautam Gambhir were sufficiently rested so they may find their form back.

"I think the key would be how soon they can shed the fatigue factor," Tendulkar said. The defending champions also have a promising bowling attack, comprising of RP Singh, Ishant Sharma and Zaheer Khan.

Pakistan, runners up last year, also fancy their chances of winning the cup this time: "I thought Australia would thrash them in the one-off T20 match in Dubai but it was the other way round and now, if Pakistan play to their potential, they can win the title," Pakistan great Wasim Akram told AFP this month.

Meanwhile, Australia, who have not been able to carry their world domination of cricket into the Twenty20, are hoping to do better this time. As for England, they have a good team despite the absence of Strauss, Pietersen and Flintoff. The other participating teams are New Zealand, Sri Lanka, West Indies, South Africa, Bangladesh and Ireland.

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

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