The debate has been going on for a while now. There have been many questions of T20 and its influence on our game overall and what to do with Test cricket.

In the recent Time Out chat with Harsha Bogle and Sanjay Manjrekar, I shared an idea about how to market Test cricket better, with an annual Test Championship and day-night Tests. I believe whole heartedly in these two opportunities.

I also mentioned the need for the ICC to consolidate with the two most favoured forms today, T20 and Test cricket. I say favoured as it is clear in the last two years that crowd numbers are greater at T20 internationals then they are in ODI’s. The fact that most countries are dropping domestic 50-over cricket and are playing or suggesting 40-over matches , or split-innings formats is indicative that domestic 50-over cricket is dead.

Will this lack of support for domestic 50-over cricket finally transfer to the international arena? It’s conceivable, simply due to the time factor of seven hours watching being difficult to fit in.

However, I will always support a simple ODI over a 40-over split-innings experiment. It is true that the longer the game the better the quality game is played and enjoyed. But Tests already provide that platform for quality, despite the fact that Tests aren’t supported in crowd numbers for obvious reasons. Test cricket is unique – it is not consistently entertaining as such, but it is hugely satisfying to follow when a contest is in hand. Test cricket must always be protected as the pinnacle of our game.

My observation isn’t to drop ODI’s now. In time there will be a continuing natural evolution of this format and the fans will ultimately decide by its attendance. But history tells us that if ODI’s started at 60 overs in 1975 World Cup, moved to 55 in 1983, then 50 in 1987, and now we are talking of the possibility of it being 40 and with two-split innings, then the pattern is clearly emerging. On that trend alone, the game will soon catch up to what we already have – T20.

My prediction is the 2015 World Cup will be the last 50 over format for that event. After 2015 I see the format going to T20. In the meantime, member countries should look to balance out the three formats and give each a chance and see what the market will ultimately choose.

Three years ago I proposed to the ICC, MCC and New Zealand Cricket the idea that each tour should comprise of the ‘Triple Treble’. 3 T20’s, 3 ODI’S and 3 Tests, in every case with the exception of the Ashes. This way all three forms could survive. But since that time ODI’s have continued to dominate the schedule and this is simply overkill and the main reason why T20 has literally taken off. At present there is an unhealthy imbalance. This is why the debate rages on. Yet through all this Test cricket is ignored and is therefore not marketable.

What do we want in the year 2020?

An annual Test Championship, a bi-annual T20 World Cup?

That’s my gut feeling

Pakistan 258 (Butt 45, Watson 6-33) lead Australia 88 by 170 runs
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Shane Watson claimed career-best figures for the second match in a row as he kept Australia’s hopes alive at Headingley with 6 for 33 to remove Pakistan for 258 on the second day. He ripped out the middle and lower order after lunch as the last five wickets fell for 36, but despite the collapse Pakistan’s lead is still an imposing 170 in conditions that remain ideal for swing bowling.

During a shortened morning session, which started 45 minutes late due a damp outfield, Pakistan had extended their lead at four runs an over despite losing both overnight batsmen. But after the interval Watson’s full swing, delivered at a fairly gentle pace, was too much for a string of batsmen as he produced a performance that had been out of reach for the frontline pacemen.

Kamran Akmal, who had been dropped on 10 by Mike Hussey in the gully, edged low to first slip where Marcus North took the catch inches off the turf then Mohammad Aamer was given a taste of his own medicine when he padded up to an inswinger. It looked out on first impressions, but Hawkeye said it was missing off stump.

There was no stopping Watson as a full, straight delivery demolished Umar Gul’s stumps and Shoaib Malik, left stranded as wickets tumbled, top-edged a slog to Tim Paine. The final-wicket pair of Mohammad Asif and Danish Kaneria had a merry slog, adding a valuable 24 in four overs, as they kept evading the fielders before Kaneria was run out by Steven Smith from mid-on.

The day had begun in equally dramatic style with an action-packed over from Mitchell Johnson. Umar Akmal played an elegant square cut but was then caught off a no-ball from the fourth delivery when he had an almighty mow across the line and skied a catch to cover. It’s hard to believe he had time to hear the call – which replays suggested was harsh – and it was clear Umar was in no mood for consolidation.

Predictably, he didn’t survive long as Johnson located the right line outside off and found the edge, but Australia’s early bowling was again varied. Ben Hilfenhaus strayed onto leg stump which allowed Amin to collect easy runs through the on side while Johnson struggled to maintain a consistent line.

Malik, back in the side following Shahid Afridi’s departure, played a couple of confident early drives although was denied boundaries by the slow outfield, but he did find the rope twice in succession off the struggling Doug Bollinger as the left-arm over pitched outside off then strayed onto the pads.

Amin had battled hard to lay a foundation which made his dismissal more disappointing when he failed to pull his bat down, as he ducked a Hilfenhaus short ball, and a catch flew off the toe end to square leg.

Australia knew their only way back into this match was to bowl Pakistan out for around 250 and they have achieved that, but now the batsmen have to make amends for the horrendous opening-day display which has left them chasing the game.

This time last year, Mitchell Johnson was approaching his nadir. He was on Australia’s Ashes tour of England; his mother was in the tabloids back home, claiming Johnson had been “stolen” away from her by his fiance. The stories were picked up in the London press, and it was an ugly episode that distracted Johnson from his role as the team’s spearhead.

At Lord’s, he bowled short and wide and was carved up by England’s batsmen, and finished the match with 3 for 200. The crowds around the country got stuck in to him, he couldn’t swing the ball, and nothing went right. Next week, he returns to Lord’s to face Pakistan in a Test, almost a year to the day after he last wore the baggy green there, under nothing like the same intense scrutiny.

“Lord’s was my lowest point, performance wise,” Johnson said in Birmingham, where he was preparing for Monday’s Twenty20 against Pakistan. “Even that, I look at the second innings and I started to feel a little better about my bowling. You look at the whole series and I was one of the leading wicket takers, I just wasn’t really at my best.

“I’m definitely more relaxed this time. It’s totally different to last time. I don’t feel those pressures. My game, I feel, has improved a lot since last being here. I had that exposure of what it was like to be the new leader of the attack and getting all the media hype and what you were getting from the crowds as well.”

On that front, Johnson is right. The Ashes this series is not, so the media hype will not follow him. And when the return contest comes later this year, Johnson will have the local fans behind him. Even so, he feels he has learnt from his last trip to England, and his focus was tested again earlier this year in New Zealand, when he clashed heads with Scott Styris in an ODI in Napier.

“In New Zealand I copped a fair bit as well from their crowds, with the incident that happened over there with Scott Styris,” Johnson said. “I copped a fair bit over there after that, but I showed that I can pull my head together and just go out there and play cricket and not let the emotions get to me. I’ve pretty much shown that I have improved.”

His focus is one thing, but Johnson must also find a way to master the English conditions. He finished the Ashes tour with 20 wickets at 32.55 – not a bad analysis, but one that flattered him a little. Part of the problem at Lord’s was the unusual slope, which Johnson had been warned about but which caused him all sorts of trouble, while he also found the English surfaces slower and softer under his feet.

Against Pakistan at Lord’s and Headingley, Johnson will be Ricky Ponting’s go-to man in a pace attack likely to feature Doug Bollinger and Ben Hilfenhaus. He doesn’t view the series so much as a second chance in England as an opportunity to fine-tune his game, which has improved dramatically since last July – he has taken 41 Test wickets at 25.90 since the start of the Australian summer.

“I did find Lord’s quite different, quite a hard place to bowl because of the slope in it,” Johnson said. “It’s something that I was warned about, speaking to past players and [Australia's bowling coach] Troy Cooley, who has been over here as the England bowling coach. It was a pretty good experience for me.

“I haven’t played county cricket before, and it’s always a good experience coming over here and playing on different kinds of wickets. Whether it’s a second chance or not – I’m not looking at it that way. I just want to go out there and do my best again. Hopefully we can start off with these Twenty20s and then work into the Test matches, which I’m really looking forward to.”

Monday’s Twenty20 will be Johnson’s first match back after missing the ODI series against England due to an infection in his right elbow. He had a tattoo on the arm ahead of the World Twenty20 and there has been speculation the two could be linked, but Johnson isn’t convinced that his artwork had anything to do with his soreness.

“I wouldn’t have thought so,” he said. “I got the tattoo three weeks before I travelled away, so that ruled that out. I got to the West Indies and I felt like I knocked it on the plane, but I’m not 100% sure. It started off as a little bursa, a little sac of fluid, and then progressed from there. We’re not really 100% sure how it came and got infected. At the moment it’s feeling very good.”

So is the rest of Johnson. What a difference a year makes.

Mark Pettini has resigned as Essex captain with James Foster taking over the leadership in all formats of the game having moved into the position for the Friends Provident t20 last month.

Pettini handed over control of the team to Foster for the Twenty20 having suffered a slump in form and took time away from the first-team. With Alastair Cook on England Lions duty he was recalled against Sussex and responded with an aggressive half-century and now he has decided the best route for both him and the club is for him to concentrate on being a batsman.

“I felt it was time for me to step down as Essex captain,” he told the club website. “We suffered a poor start to the Friends Provident t20 campaign and I wanted to be able to focus on my own game. I got to the point that I was exhausted and I was under pressure with my batting.”

“The team performances were, at that stage, not going to plan and personally I was struggling with the bat. On Tuesday I returned to the side to face Sussex in the T20, hopefully I showed the difference to my game without the pressures of being captain. The role is obviously very stressful and creates a lot of hard work, both on and off the pitch. Now I can focus on scoring runs across all formats of the game which will hopefully help us to have another successful season, with a chance of winning some major honours”.

“It was an extremely tough decision to make; I have really enjoyed the last three years and the success we have enjoyed as a team. I particularly enjoyed working closely with Paul Grayson, if the circumstances are different in the future then the captaincy is certainly something that I would be honoured to take up once again”.

Paul Grayson, the Essex coach, said he’d been involved in discussions with Pettini for a number of weeks about his position and hoped the move would free him up to fulfil his potential.

“Obviously it is a disappointment that it has come to this,” Grayson said. “Myself and Mark have discussed the situation over the past few weeks. We want him to come back into the ranks and for him to be the player that he was. Anyone who was here for the game on Tuesday night would have seen he was really refreshed and focused, he did not appear to have any concerns and that is the way we want him to play for Essex”.

Meanwhile Foster, who led Essex against the touring Pakistan team on Friday, said his priority was now leading the county to a trophy this season.

“I was asked whether I would like to accept the role as captain and I am delighted and thrilled to be considered for such a pivotal position in the club, there have been some illustrious names that have done well in the role in the past and to be listed amongst them is an honour and a privilege,” he said.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed the role as captain in this season’s Twenty20 tournament. The focus now is continuing our form across all three competitions. We have every chance of maintaining our place in the County Championship and hopefully gaining some silverwear in the one day competitions

The ICC has retained its current policy of allowing the host country to decide, upon consultation with the touring side, on whether or not to use the UDRS in a Test series. It also decided to use the system in the 2011 World Cup, subject to agreement with ICC’s broadcast partner ESPN STAR Sports, the countries hosting the tournament and the availability of adequate technology to operate the system.

The implementation of the UDRS worldwide has been inconsistent, and the ICC Cricket Committee, in its meeting at Lord’s earlier this year, had recommended the system be introduced “as soon as possible in all Tests.”

“The detailed work of the ICC Cricket Committee gave both the CEC and the ICC Board excellent direction and there was full agreement that technology would be used whenever possible,” Haroon Lorgat, the ICC’s chief executive said.

“We have all seen the benefits of using DRS to assist umpires in Test cricket and we are now keen to use DRS in the ICC Cricket World Cup. We also acknowledge and we are grateful for the support provided by broadcasters and technology suppliers around the world during the development phase of DRS.”

The ICC and the ECB have also exonerated umpire Daryl Harper of any blame during the Johannesburg Test earlier this year. Harper landed in controversy after he turned down a caught-behind appeal against Graeme Smith which had been referred to him.

Harper upheld the on-field umpire Tony Hill’s decision because he could not hear a sound on the replay and it was suggested that he had not increased the volume setting on his monitor which would have made the edge evident. However, the ICC has said a “technical failure” was the cause of the lapse.

“Following the issues raised with the DRS in the Wanderers Test match between South Africa and England in January 2010, the preliminary findings of Advocate Brent Lockie and ICC Cricket Committee chairman Clive Lloyd acknowledges that the technology failure at the time adversely impacted on the information received by the third umpire Daryl Harper while making his decision,” the ICC said. “The ICC and the England and Wales Cricket Board agreed that the third umpire in the match, Daryl Harper, was entirely blameless due to this technical failure.”

In a bid to eliminate any inconsistency the ICC, in May, had decided it had to meet with all broadcasting companies in a bid to standardise the use of technology, and hosted a workshop earlier in the year.

Cricket Australia is standing by John Howard and seriously considering whether to repeat its push to have him installed as ICC vice-president despite his swift rejection in Singapore. The appointment of Howard was stopped at an ICC board meeting on Wednesday by a group of Asian and African members in a result that left Australian and New Zealand officials “gutted”.

Jack Clarke, Cricket Australia’s chairman, will consult with his board this week, but Cricinfo has learned Howard remains the organisation’s nomination for the position despite the refusal of seven ICC board members to support the application. It sets up the prospect of Howard’s name being returned as the joint Australia-New Zealand candidate by the August 31 deadline, although this depends on New Zealand Cricket wanting to continue the fight.

Howard was standing firm despite the embarrassing turn of events. “I haven’t withdrawn, I’m still the nomination and I won’t be withdrawing,” he told Sky News.

Clarke and Wally Edwards, his deputy, will host a meeting with Cricket Australia’s board members, who were said to be “very angry” with the Singapore result, over the next couple of days to determine whether to keep pushing for Howard. Once they have decided the way forward they will discuss the position with New Zealand Cricket, which originally wanted its former chairman Sir John Anderson in the role.

Both Clarke and Alan Isaac, the New Zealand chairman, were angry and frustrated with the outcome of the ICC board meeting in which the Howard issue didn’t get to a vote. Under the ICC’s regulations, it was Australasia’s turn to choose the vice-president, who would then assume the top job in 2012.

However, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, South Africa and West Indies signalled their intention on Tuesday night to block the move. Zimbabwe, privately the most critical of the appointment, did not join the list but were a crucial player in the decision.

India also had a role in providing support to deny Howard. “If India said yes, it would have got through,” a source close to the negotiations told Cricinfo.

Cricket Australia asked Howard to take up the post and he said it was on the understanding that if he fitted the ICC guidelines and didn’t have a criminal record he would be approved. Both the Australian and New Zealand boards argued he came through the most rigorous selection process and deserved the role.

Clarke was disappointed at the treatment of such a well-qualified applicant and the hurt was compounded by no reasons being given for the rejection. Howard said he had spoken to a board chairman from one of the opposing countries, who told him he could not say why the appointment had been blocked. “It’s a very unusual situation,” Howard said.

Criticisms of Howard vary from his decisions regarding Zimbabwe during his time as Australia’s prime minister to him not being involved previously with Cricket Australia in an official capacity. “Frankly, we did not want an outsider to meddle with the ICC,” an Indian board official told AFP. “There was nothing personal against Howard. But we do accept the argument that only a man with previous experience in cricket administration should head the ICC.”

The nomination of John Howard, the former Australian Prime Minister, for the ICC’s vice-presidency has taken another hit with Sri Lanka saying it would not support his candidature. As first reported by Cricinfo, South Africa and Zimbabwe are leading a move to prevent Howard from being nominated to a post from where he will, in two years’ time, graduate to heading the ICC.

Howard is the nominee of Australia and New Zealand and, under the ICC’s region-based nomination system, his entry into the ICC would normally have been a formality. However, his nomination needs seven votes from the ten Test-playing countries to be accepted and, with three countries already opposing it, one more negative vote would rule him out.

Sri Lanka Cricket’s interim committee chairman Somachandra de Silva told Cricinfo that on principle his board would not support Howard’s candidature because he lacks a cricketing background.”On principle it is the wrong thing to do to bring someone from outside for the vice-presidency,” de Silva said.”We would support any of the directors from Australia and New Zealand who are representatives of the ICC, but not anyone from outside.

“At the last ICC meeting in Dubai about two months ago, it was mentioned that Howard’s name was being put forward for the vice-president’s post, and I was of the opinion that it was wrong. Anyone coming forward for ICC posts should be currently involved in cricket and not be a total outsider. In that respect we would not be supporting the candidature of Howard for the vice-presidency,” de Silva said.

As prime minister, Howard had, in 2004, attracted heavy criticism in Sri Lanka when he questioned the bowling action of Muttiah Muralitharan. He made the comments twice, once at a function organized by his Liberal Party, and then, several days later, on a radio programme when he was questioned on his statement. The comments came before Sri Lanka were scheduled to tour Australia – a Test series that Murali eventually skipped.

When news of the nomination became public last March, Murali said he had forgiven Howard for his comments but added that, should his nomination succeed, he would have to convince the sub-continent of his intentions.

David Morgan, the outgoing ICC president, believes it “won’t be too long” before day-night Tests are played in Australia or India. The ICC will meet at Lord’s this week and Morgan will soon leave his post and be succeeded by India’s Sharad Pawar.

The prospect of day-night Tests has been raised to increase crowds but the concept has been held back by problems with coloured balls lasting 80 overs. However, Morgan is convinced they will happen.

“I talked to administrators in Australia whom I expected to be so conservative as to be against day-night Test cricket but they are very much for it,” he told AFP. “I believe it won’t be too long before we see day-night Test cricket in Australia or India.”

James Sutherland, Cricket Australia’s chief executive, is leading the push for Tests under lights and there were trials held in 2nd XI games in 2009-10. However, the pink and orange balls don’t last as long as the red ones, despite millions of dollars being spent on research.

Morgan said the biggest regret of his two-year term as president was Pakistan becoming a no-go area for international cricket following the terrorist attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore last year. “I feel sad for the people of Pakistan and for the cricketers in Pakistan,” he said. “Pakistan has produced some of the most stylish cricketers in the last couple of decades – Imran Khan, Javed Miandad, Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram.

“It’s a country we need to continue to be producing fine cricketers, a bit like the Welsh [rugby union] outside-half factory. When these things cease to flow, the game is a great deal poorer.”

Toss Australia won the toss and will bat against Sri Lanka
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Australia won the toss and will bat in the second match of the day at the Kensington Oval in Barbados. Michael Clarke’s correct call may prove vital, as eight out of the 11 Twenty20s played at the ground have been won by the side batting first.

The Australian Twenty20 outfit has rumbled imperiously through this tournament after a shaky start to their warm-ups, and will be searching for a fourth straight win that will take them to the brink of a semi-final berth. They seem to have struck a good balance in their side, while opting for a pace-oriented attack, and will field an unchanged side today.

Sri Lanka were kept afloat by Mahela Jayawardene’s golden form with the bat when the rest of the line-up could barely make a run, and though Kumar Sangakkara’s 68 in a match-winning stand with Jayawardene against West Indies two days is a positive sign, the batting will be sorely tested by Australia’s formidable pace attack on a bouncy track.
If their batsman can find the backbone to chase down a total, Sri Lanka will book a place in the semi-finals and India, who were bounced to a 14-run loss against West Indies in the first game of the day, will be out of the competition.

Sri Lanka will be missing the experience of Muttiah Muralitharan, who will return home today after his groin injury flared up again during the win over West Indies on Friday. His exit has sparked a number of changes to the side that beat West Indies, as Thissara Perera and Nuwan Kulasekara make way for left-arm seamer Chanaka Welegedara and 20-year-old batsman Dinesh Chandimal, while Suraj Randiv comes in for Murali.

Australia: 1 David Warner, 2 Shane Watson, 3 Michael Clarke (capt), 4 David Hussey, 5 Cameron White, 6 Michael Hussey, 7 Brad Haddin (wk), 8 Steven Smith, 9 Mitchell Johnson, 10 Shaun Tait, 11 Dirk Nannes

Sri Lanka: 1 Tillekaratne Dilshan, 2 Mahela Jayawardene, 3 Kumar Sangakkara (capt/wk), 4 Chamara Kapugedera, 5 Angelo Mathews, 6 Dinesh Chandimal, 7 Sanath Jayasuriya , 8 Lasith Malinga, 9 Ajantha Mendis, 10 Suraj Randiv, 11 Chanaka Welegedara

Jacob Oram’s catalogue of serious injuries is wearing him down but the lure of the World Twenty20 has motivated another comeback. A torn patella tendon in the first ODI against Australia last month ruled him out of the IPL, where his price tag was US$675,000, and continued a desperate battle with his body.

Oram, speaking at New Zealand’s training camp in Australia, said he is “good to go” for the Twenty20 tournament, which is a relief to himself and the side. In form Oram is one of the game’s most brutal hitters and a useful medium pacer, but he has been hampered by injuries – back, calf and Achilles problems occurred before the latest setback – throughout his career.

“The knee is alright, at the moment there are no problems,” Oram told Cricinfo. “It’s nearly six weeks now since I was hurt, but it could have been a lot worse. It could have been four to six months instead of four to six weeks. It’s still been hellishly frustrating, especially missing the Australian series, which is the big one.”

There was also the financial pain of losing his huge IPL fee, but throughout his rehabilitation he remained focussed on the event in the Caribbean. New Zealand open the tournament when they face Sri Lanka in Guyana on April 30 and back up against Zimbabwe on May 4.

“The carrot for me was the World Twenty20, which is still a massive event, so I pinned my hopes to that,” he said. “I’ve had to start looking at the big picture. Three or four years ago I used to rush back and it doubled or tripled the time out. This time it hasn’t been like a winter break and I’m looking forward to more.”

During the lay-off he was at home with his wife and six-month old son and the 31-year-old knows his life is changing. He has already retired from Tests after 33 games to prolong his limited-overs career, which includes 139 ODIs and 23 Twenty20s.

With each new fitness problem Oram finds it harder to keep going. “Now it is. Maybe the first four or five lengthy injuries – going home from a tour or missing a series – didn’t worry me,” he said. “I was young and I just got back. Now it’s eroded the energy of my psyche. It weighs on my shoulders.”

Oram, whose knee becomes “a bit stiff” after bowling, is not the only one in the New Zealand squad who is suffering. Kyle Mills (knee and shoulder), Jesse Ryder (stomach), Ian Butler (groin) and Aaron Redmond (groin) are also trying to eliminate doubts over their bodies in Brisbane this week. The training was restricted on Wednesday when they were forced into an indoor cricket centre after being hit by the sort of wet weather they knew they would get at home.

Oram said having so many players coming back was not a problem. “New Zealand teams are used to it, a wealth of injuries,” he said. “Kyle and Jesse are very important to the team so it’s more about being excited to have them here than worried about them.”

Having their core of star players firing is the key for New Zealand, who made the semi-finals in South Africa in 2007 and the second round in England last year. “If we can get everyone fit then we’re a real chance to go all the way,” Oram said. “The 40-over game helps us. For the five to 10 years that I’ve been playing, we’re always better and more comfortable with the shorter forms. If things go well it could play into our hands, but then Twenty20 is so fickle.”