Cricket is an embodiment of the way many sports have transformed to attract new fans and participants, but former Australian allrounder Greg Matthews is particularly excited about the direction the game is heading.
The influence of Twenty20 cricket has forever reshaped the traditional five-day Test format. This was recently showcased during Australia’s 184-run victory over India in the fourth Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, highlighted by a remarkable debut performance from 19-year-old Sam Konstas.
Konstas played some extraordinary ramp shots against the No.1 bowler in the world, Indian opening paceman Jasprit Bumrah.
After Konstas was beaten for pace a number of times early in his innings, he went on to hit six fours and two sixes in a match-winning innings which unsettled the Indian attack, and set the tone for Australia’s commanding victory.
His innings drew the ire of modern-day legend Virat Kohli, who was fined 20 percent of his match pay after he bumped into Konstas’ shoulder while the young New South Welshman asserted his dominance with the willow.
The ramp strokes Konstas played—getting underneath deliveries at over 140km/hr and scooping them over slip fieldsmen closely positioned behind his bat—were unheard of at the beginning of this century.
But according to Matthews—who played 33 Tests, and scored four hundreds and 12 fifties at a respected average of 41.08 runs per innings—Test cricket’s evolution with such audacious strokeplay has only had many positives on the traditional version of the game.
Twenty20 cricket—where each side only faces 20 overs or 120 deliveries— pressures the batsmen to score quickly.
And this has filtered across to Test cricket, with these matches played across a five-day schedule.
Most pleasing for Matthews is the amount of new fans cricket has picked up all around the world because of the influence of Twenty20, and the way it has led to batsmen expanding their attacking repertoire.
“It (the way cricket has evolved due to Twenty20 cricket) just mirrors the community we live in,” Matthews told The Epoch Times during the Boxing Day Test at the MCG.
“It’s a great thing. It’s not the 1950s or the 60s anymore.
Young Aussie’s ‘Impetuousness’ Brings New Fans
Similar to the immediate impression Konstas has made, Matthews was a strong presence on the cricket field and off it with his charismatic commentary post-retirement.He is also well known for his appearances in the Advanced Hair “Yeah, Yeah” advertisements for hair growth, made famous in the 1990s.
The now 65-year-old, who scored 1,849 runs and took 61 wickets at Test level, believes the way Konstas showed such little nerves on Test debut will only win over many new, younger fans.
But he cautioned that his apparent carefree approach in the international arena was a “double-edged sword.”
“It’s a two-edged sword. He’s stepped up with his positivity and energy in the field,” Matthews said.
“He’s very exciting. But on the other side of the coin, if one of those early ramp shots caught an edge (on his bat) it would’ve been interesting.”
Matthews said Konstas’ “impetuousness” could win over an entire young generation of new cricket supporters, with many now wanting to emulate his ramp shots.
“The impetuousness of youth. The arrogance,” Matthews said, when asked what he thought of Konstas’ batting approach in the first innings of the fourth Test.
“The ignorance as well. The great thing he did was he created a lot of interest.
“He gave an energy and a different type of energy to the (Australian) side that they hadn’t had.
“And when you have a guy (Bumrah) who’s considered one of the greatest in the history of Indian cricket, bowling to a 19-year-old ‘punk’ and he gets elbowed and shouldered by a legend, that tells you the effect that he had on the Indians.
Paceman: ‘Test Players Are Now More Daring’
Fellow New South Welshman and former Australian international Stuart Clark pointed out that Konstas’ popularity quickly went up online after his memorable first innings at Test level.“Apparently, his Instagram followers went from 15,000 to 120,000 overnight,” the ex-paceman who took 94 and 53 wickets respectively in Tests and one-day internationals, told The Epoch Times.
“I think people are just a little bit more daring (in current-day Test cricket).”
Clark added cricket fans should see another dimension to Konstas’ batting in the way he will approach the fifth Test against the touring Indians at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3-7.
“He doesn’t usually bat like that. He was a bit out of the box,” Clark said.
“I was surprised. He’s not just a T20 player. When I watched him I thought it was different.”
