15 January, 2017
MELBOURNE, Saturday - Cricket’s shortest Twenty20 format should be restricted to domestic franchises to maintain the relevance of one-day internationals, Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur has said. With the rise of the shorter and action-packed T20 format in recent years,the 50-over version of international cricket has suffered a dip in attendance.
Arthur, the former South Africa and Australia coach, was in the stands on Wednesday to watch the Perth Scorchers beat the Brisbane Heat by 27 runs in the Big Bash League, the popular, franchise-based domestic T20 league Down Under.
“It was an amazing atmosphere - it’s show business, that reminded me of going to basketball,” said the 48-year-old. “It was brilliant. As pure cricket, (it was) okay.”