Ricky Ponting's decision to retire from Twenty20 internationals gives credence to the belief that the format is not universally popular with the game's top players. It remains a largely unspoken view. Voicing the opinion might prove inequitable, given the vast sums of money on offer in the Indian Premier League. However, three of the captains from the top eight nations, who will be competing at the Champions Trophy later this month, are no longer playing the 20-over game.
Younus Khan, from Pakistan, compared the game to WWF wrestling, before giving way to concentrate on the other forms after winning the World T20 this summer. Meanwhile, Andrew Strauss, the player of the series in the recent Ashes series, is happy not to be considered for internationals in the abridged version. According to Rod Marsh, who mentored Ponting early in his career and who is now the director of the ICC Global Cricket Academy in Dubai, not everyone loves the Twenty20 format as much as those who market it.
"There are a lot of top Test match players who don't like playing Twenty20 cricket. I can guarantee you that's the case," Marsh said recently. "Who are the best Twenty20 players in the world? I think you will find they are probably the best cricketers. "There might be the odd exception, but they will be the exception rather than the rule. "The reason some of the better players aren't performing at Twenty20 cricket is probably because they don't like it."
Ponting, who averages 28 in T20 cricket, has opted to ditch the least physically demanding of the sport's three versions in order to extend his career. "I definitely feel I still have a lot to offer the Twenty20 game, but when you factor in an extra four weeks of international cricket, it has an effect down the track on the other forms of the game," he said. "You look at the way I started this last Ashes series, going in nice and fresh and making 100 at the start, then going downhill through the series.
"I want to make sure that doesn't happen again at any stage in my career, and I think having the extra few weeks at home will give me the best chance to do that." @Email:pradley@thenational.ae
