The 20-20 effect

As the latest form of the game evolves in its first showcase event, I realize that there could be two interesting impacts of the same, in other forms of cricket. 20-20 has 6 overs of powerplay, and once this is done, what is left is similar to the last 14 overs of a 50 over match, provided the number of wickets lost is the same in both the cases. So from what I saw in the first game between South Africa and the Windies, we are going to witness a transformation in slog over batting as we have never seen before. Fielders will field hard, batsmen will hit harder and bowlers will feel the pain hardest. A team that has lost only 2-3 wickets till the 35 over mark in a 50 over game will probably end up scoring far more than what they usually would have done, had there been no 20-20. The second and the more positive impact stems from the fact that the shorter the duration of the game becomes, the greater the chances of a minnow upsetting a bigger team become. Think of it, 20-20 will not give teams a second chance. So if a bigger team makes a mess of 4-5 overs, then the chances of coming back are remote, even if you are facing a Scotland or a Bangladesh. What these smaller teams lack is not the talent or the ability, but the belief that they can upstage a bigger rival. A win in a 20-20 match will lead to this belief. How many times have we seen minnows starting the match on s strong note only to fritter away the advantage? 20-20 might well go a long way in solving this problem. So although bowlers will have nightmares thinking about their economy rates from now on, for the smaller teams, this event should be a boon.