West Indian batting dynamo Brian Lara has made a telling comment on the state of affairs as the game stands today and has come out in praise of the Twenty20 game.
Brian Lara, now retired, has spoken about his views of the game of cricket in current times and feels that the game is a dying sport. He also stated that Twenty20 has come at the right time when cricket is in desperation need of a resurrection.
While reactions are coming thick and fast to Lara’s comments about cricket’s survival, if one puts it in perspective, Lara is perhaps more reflective on the game in the island nations of the Caribbean where cricket has seen the “death” of the gap in the gap between talent and development that has seen West Indies plummet to the very lows of the game. With football and American sports catching on, cricket has needed a fillip.
As far as his endorsement of the Twenty20 game, while he meant that Twenty20 has brought a new spark and dimension to the game of cricket as we know it, he was categorical about the fact that cricketers will move away from the slam bang mode and discern tactics that can also win them games in a Twenty20 scenario and that will see some of the true players stand out from the pretenders.
He also stated that while Twenty20 has drawn a huge spectator population and television viewer ship, it was not often the true cricket fan who came to watch the game. But perhaps like he hopes the game will develop “artistry”, so will the fan get more knowledgeable about the sport with time.
Captaining the side was the toughest job, says Lara
