Twenty20 underway

That’s right – the English domestic Twenty20 season is under way again – teams with silly names, players with silly pyjamas and a bunch of silly rules as the beautiful game of cricket is condensed down in to a frankly silly 20 overs. Batsmen have no time to play themselves in and look to smash the ball as hard and as far from the ground as they can. Bowlers try not to let that happen but really don’t have a lot of luck as if they stray barely an inch from target then it’s a no ball or a wide or a wide no ball. It’s action packed stuff.

And frankly, it’s awesome. OK, so it’s not proper cricket but it was never intended to be. It was designed to entice any non-cricket lovers to the game with thrills and spills and some excitement, things not usually associated with cricket. It has certainly worked over the last few seasons and this year’s competition promises more of the same. Last night, cup holders Leicestershire* beat Yorkshire*, with Jeremy Snape taking a hat trick. In today’s game between Nottinghamshire* and Lancashire*, it’s only the 3rd over and we’ve already seen 3 sixes, one of which was off the first ball that Sanath Jayasuriya faced. And the score is already 30/1. Run rates will usually be between 8 and 12 an over, anything else represents a below par score.

So hold on to your hats and enjoy Twenty20 cricket.

* Leicestershire Foxes, Yorkshire Phoenix, Nottinghamshire Outlaws, Lancashire Lightning. See – silly names.