Letter

World T20 trophy now a cheap prize

Has the T20 World Cup trophy become such a cheap prize that now every man, woman and child is able to lay their hands on it. In the past the 50-over World Cup belonged only to the players who won it and deserved all the right in the world to hold it after much toil and sacrifice.

Are we now to believe that cricket World Cups have got so cheap that the International Cricket Council does not mind such a trophy being undervalued and thousands of fans able to abuse it? Or is this a kind of confirmation that T20 cricket is for the crowds and the gallery from where the money comes.

If this is the case will the cricketers have any pride in playing for a trophy that every Tom, Dick and Harry has laid his hands on. Is it a trophy worth sacrificing life and limb?

I don't think the Ashes Urn on offer at the England-Australia Test series is subjected to this kind of cheap exposure. The football World Cup has never been subjected to this kind of treatment? It seems the ICC is caught up in a situation where they know that it is better to let a trophy like the T20 World Cup be subjected to such abuse than do the same with the 50-over Cup. But then is there a need for the T20 World Cup to be sent on promotional tours when the shortest format of the game already has the gallery audience to sing its praises.

The ICC is now looking for ways of ensuring Test cricket does not die out and may be they should then insist that the two countries that feature in a Test series showcase the event by sending the bilateral Test series trophy around in a promotional gimmick? It's a better idea than trying to play five-day Test cricket at night with pink balls.

Arthur Maynard Henricus

Dehiwela