Twenty20 Farce with Andrew Johns?

[Beaussie]

Great crowds continue for the Twenty20 concept but why the hell would NSW pick a Rugby League player in Andrew Johns to play. Like Lawson says below over 27,000 turned up at the Gabba the week before with no such gimmicks. What kind of message does it send to young cricketers in NSW hoping to gain a spot in the team?

Farce or bit of fun?
By Iain Payten and James Phelps
January 09, 2007 12:00
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/s ... 23,00.html

CRITICS of Andrew Johns' divisive cameo for the NSW cricket side were urged to lighten up yesterday after the rugby league star found himself the centre of a storm over Twenty20's credibility.

Johns' unusual appearance for the Blues in their loss to South Australia in Newcastle on Sunday sparked controversy when former NSW captain Geoff Lawson branded the finish of the game "a farce".

Johns came in to bat last with NSW needing 13 runs off the last over, but the celebrity novice didn't face a ball as Blues skipper Simon Katich turned down runs to keep him off strike.

With Australia playing a Twenty20 international tonight against England in Sydney, the Johns experiment divided public opinion yesterday on talkback radio.

But Cricket NSW boss David Gilbert defended the promotion, saying a record Newcastle crowd justified the stunt.

"At times in sport we take ourselves so dreadfully seriously. We forget that we're in the entertainment business. 10,500 people in a regional venue can't be wrong," Gilbert said.

"The biggest ever crowd at that venue in its history says it all."

Gilbert found support in a band of former Test greats and current star Andrew Symonds yesterday but Lawson remained steadfast in his disapproval.

"I would like to see some evidence Johns brought anyone through the gate. The people I spoke to said they were mostly there to see the cricket," Lawson said.

"We saw 27,000 people turn up at the Gabba last week, with no gimmicks. Without question, everyone said they were disappointed with what happened at the end."

Lawson said he based his theory on talking to around 80 people at the Newcastle match.

Johns was reluctant to buy into the debate yesterday, saying his aim was to help raise money for a local charity.

"I've never professed to being a Shane Warne or a Ricky Ponting," he said. "It's just a bit of fun. I think both teams didn't mind me playing."

South Australia captain Darren Lehmann concurred, and said the Redbacks had even run an eye over AFL players in Adelaide.

"I think it's actually OK," Lehmann said.

"You would have to make sure they get involved in the game. But the people enjoyed it. It's a great concept. Hats off to NSW."

Former Test captain Mark Taylor described the game as "fantastic".

"I think the result is part of any game but I see Twenty20 as a developing game and as fun," Taylor said.

"At the end of the day, for the NSW team to leave it to Andrew Johns when they were chasing only 150, maybe there was a problem a bit earlier in the order."

Doug Walters also backed the concept.

"They had 11,000 people there so you would have to say it was a winner," he said.

Symonds, a former league junior, said the celebrity injection was "fine by me".

Gilbert believes Twenty20 should be seen as entertainment and recruitment grounds for fans.

"The only reason there seems to be a bit of hysteria is that Johns didn't get to face a ball in the last over," Gilbert said.

"People just need to remember this is Twenty20 cricket. It has no history, it has no tradition. It is a very, very new concept that we are all still trying to get our head around.

"There has been an enormous amount of positives to come out of it, and unfortunately we get a few so-called experts who wanted to find the negative side to it."

But Lawson said pride in the NSW cap was something he and other ex-players would always value.

"Whatever the parameters of the game are, you are doing your best to win and it didn't look like NSW were doing their best to win at the end. I'd never seen that before," he said.

[Hannibal]

I respect Johns as a football player but save him for celebrity cricket matches...