It's all cricket and it's all good

WHY this crazed belief that Twenty20 is in competition with Test cricket? Why the assumption that Tests wither in direct proportion to the growth of The Land Of Plenty, Twenty20? Test cricket will never die. It survives in Australia without one cent of government funding, for starters. It's a self-sustaining organism, feeding off itself, immune to fads and trends. Crowd attendances are poor but you know how much that matters? Not a fig. TV audiences are large and consistent, and the sponsorship-based finances generated by those ratings keep the air in Test cricket's lungs. Both forms can flourish, complementing each other. Want a one-night stand this week? Watch the Big Bash. Want something deep and meaningful? Savour the Test. You're spoiled for choice. Kids and women lured to the grand game by the excitement of T20 are casting their inquisitive eyes on Tests. The traditionalists are getting a buzz and a laugh out of T20. It's all good. Part of the fascination is seeing players trying to adapt. Seeing Phillip Hughes winding up like Babe Ruth in the Big Bash then turning prim and proper when he's rushed into the Sydney Test. T20 can save the domestic scene. Record crowds at the MCG and Adelaide Oval for the Big Bash this week were a magnificent sight. Both games were gems, and a few of those spectators might now be tempted to take a squiz, or a seat, at the ghost town that is normally the Sheffield Shield. T20 cricket, Test cricket, Shield cricket, Ford Ranger Cup cricket, French cricket, backyard cricket, corridor cricket, beach cricket, tip-and-run cricket - it's all cricket. And all forms of interest should be welcomed. NSW play their first home Big Bash match at Homebush Bay next week. .