COLONIC IRRIGATION

No idea what the record is for the number of colons in an article, but Gideon Haigh's piece in today's Australian must come close:

Cricket will rue dawn of Twenty20

NOTHING succeeds like success, says the proverb. For confirmation, look no further than the cricket grounds of South Africa. Test matches there usually struggle to attract a quorum. For the past 10 days the grounds have brimmed with life and noise for a world championship of the game's newest variant, Twenty20: a heady mixture of thrills, spills and the epiphenomenon of mass marketing.

The conclusion, moreover, was close to ideal. Where the 50-over-a-side World Cup earlier this year was fatally undermined by the early exits of India and Pakistan, here those traditional antagonists reached the final, having earlier tied after 240 deliveries. The subcontinent is the hub of the game and cricket observes the golden rule: whoever has the gold makes the rules. India and Pakistan, and perforce the world, are about to go Twenty20 crazy.

Not that there's anything wrong with that, some of my best friends use colons. Big words, too; although it's never the done thing to use epiphenomenon in mixed company.

Still, despite a penchant for the prolix, there's nothing wrong with Gideon's sentiment: Twenty20 is a load of pants.

Comments

[Tony T.]

And of course, thanks to 13th Man for the tip off.

[2BarRiff]

That's right!

Any form of cricket that relegates Australia to a second rate power deserves to be ignored.

[Tony T.]

Correction: Quicket is second rate and deserves to be ignored.

Gideon Haigh is a Pom and as such, is extremely unlikely to dismiss Twenty20 because Australia aren't the best. He dismisses it because it's rubbish.

[Tony T.]

Actually, Fifty50 is second rate, Twenty20 is third rate.

[nick]

Colons produce crap. The analogy is obvious.

[13th Man]

Personally, I thought the overuse of colons was absolutely bloody epiphenomenal!
And of course the Pakis and Indians were going apeshit over making the final - as, I am sure, were the promoters. Lots of money, bugger all skill required. Very sub-con. Pity Shoaib didn't go - I hear he's pretty handy with a bat now, and the Paki tail could've done with a cameo.

Go the Power!!!

[nick]

Twenty20 is just not cricket. And as for the Power...bah humbug.

[Mark]

Who'd have thought an entire game lasting 240 deliveries. Sir Geoffrey used to take that long playing himself in.

[Professor Rosseforp]

In terms of punctuation: the Sydney Morning Herald has a tendency to include unspoken and irrelevant words in square brackets to "clarify" quotes from [sports]persons. Their dreadful punctuation is also highlighted by their [monthly] supplement, the (sydney) magazine -- what's with the parentheses, and where are the capital letters?
On a separate punctuation matter: I have never counted the exclamation marks in Vance Palmer's novel, The Passage [not related to colons ....], but would be interested if anyone could nominate a novel with more exclamation marks!

[Adsy]

I might be lynched for even mentioning this, but I reckon one of best performances in the tournament was from "Bumble" Lloyd in the commentary box. Anytime he does a game that doesn't include England hes actually not that bad to listen to. Went as far overboard as his Pomminess allowed, but still didn't sound as much as a nuffy as Slats, who tries too hard to sound excited, but we won't go there...

Was I on something when I wrote this? Strangely enough no.

[SaggyGreen]

I thought I'd hate the whole thing...but I've decided I prefer it to 50 over cricket, which has become predictable and stale. Every delivery now has a greater importance, compared with the dull middle 20 overs of an ODI. Oh yeah, and the whole thing was done and dusted in a fortnight.

[Tony T.]

The first Sixty60 World Cup in 1975 took a fortnight, too. There's plenty of time yet for the TV moguls to tell the ICC that's not drawn out enough for the Twenty20 World Cup in 2009.

[Tony T.]

The consensus is pretty much that T20 is ok in small doses. That may be right, but then so was laudanum. Still, if the Cane Man's on board, it must be good for ya:

T20? Dammit, I'm a convert

BEYOND all reasonable argument, Twenty20 was a resounding success. A vast audience was transfixed by the event. Soccer-mad youngsters switched over to the cricket. Shouts from downstairs indicated not that Manchester United had scored but that Yuvraj Singh had hit a six. Parents dismayed by their offsprings' coldness towards the game suddenly found those selfsame youths organising cricket parties. Television sets in pubs were switched to the game and the grounds were full of fun. Where the World Cup was po-faced, the game now laughed, not least at itself. Dammit, I am a convert.

[Scott Wickstein]

Meh. When's the Test matches starting again? Roll on November.

[carneagles]

Epiphewhatnow?

[Gareth]

Is Gideon really a Pom? Surely he's a Pom in the way that Andrew Symonds is a Pom - ie. born there but lived his whole life here.

[Tony T.]

That's probably right. But he tipped England to win in 2005 and said he would barrack for them.

Although, I can't remember if he said he was going to barrack for them because he "barracked for England" or if he said it in the Tim Lane/Mike Coward/Greg Baum "It would be good for cricket if England won" type of cobblers. I hold him in higher esteem than that.

[CB]

I refer to previous commentary: Was [there] a cricket match on recent[ly]?