Will ODIs and Test cricket suffer at the hands of Twenty20?

The Indian Premier League and rebel Indian Cricket League have given new precedence to the upstart new form of the game – Twenty20.

Opinion is divided over the merits of the game, but the one thing that no one can ignore is that the fans absolutely love it. The stuffy intelligentsia see Twenty20 as the biggest threat to the game since Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket – with some justification. The latest Indian leagues have seen the final phase of the power shift away from the traditional “owners” of the game, England and Australia.

The amount of money being generated is staggering and it is all going into the pocket of the BCCI, the governing body for cricket in India. Whether it is sustainable is not yet known, but the almost universal popularity of the game suggests that it will be around for some time to come.

Whether this shift will be detrimental to cricket remains to be seen. Certainly, the BCCI have used their influence to shape the outcome of disciplinary hearings over the summer in Australia, not necessarily in the best interests of the game, but more to protect their own. The BCCI however is new to this position of power and time will tell how they guide the development of the game.

What, then, of the claims that Twenty20 will destroy Test cricket? Can a game that bears only a passing resemblance to the white clothing game really have that great an impact? It shouldn’t, but it may take some clever management by the ICC to minimise the damage – now, there’s a statement to strike fear into the hearts of cricket lovers around the world!

A more likely victim of the Twenty20 phenomenon is the 50-over form of the game. One-day cricket has lost its gloss over the last few years and is beginning to look like a poor cousin in the reflected limelight of the more glamorous newcomer. Far from making the older game more exciting, it seems to have made the game more conservative.

Only two years ago, Australia and South Africa both scored over 400 in a one-day match. These days it is rare to see scores of 300 (only 27 times out of 150-plus games since the beginning of the 2007 World Cup – 15 of which were against sides outside the top eight). That’s not to say the games aren't tight, hard fought contests, just not as high scoring.

But the fans of the short game aren't there to see tense cricket, they are there to see high-scoring, big-hitting games with lots of colour, movement and noise. It’s like they are trying to reproduce the environment they used to have in their cot with their first musical mobile.

As an aside, you have to admire the ability of players to perform in this environment. We even have batsmen commentating on the game as they are facing up to the bowlers, it must require amazing powers of concentration. Compare that to tennis players or golfers who throw tantrums if anyone coughs when they're about to hit the ball.

Twenty20 has much to admire, if for no other reason than its ability to attract a whole new breed of fan (although hopefully they won't come to Test matches). It is definitely a threat – but not to Test cricket. The games and fan base are too different to affect each other's popularity.

The 50-over one-day game, on the other hand, should be very worried indeed. And if that's the case, do we really care?