I40- The new format for cricket

When it comes to cricket I fall in the category of the Purists. I was amongst the people who frowned at the idea of reducing cricket to a 20 over a side game. Even though, I did enjoy the Indian victory in the inaugral T20 WC and the success of the IPL, I always thought of it as an advertisement of cricket. Nothing more than that. For me the sight of a red cherry being rubbed against the shining whites is real cricket.

Even as the ICC announced its plans of introducing Day Night Test matches,there is no denying the fact that Test Match has lost much of its sheen in recent past. The reason is just not the success of the shorter versions, but also the deteriorating qualities of test squads across the world. It definitely is a sorry fact, but we have to accept it. And its not ony the Test Cricket which is fighting for survival, ODIs are also facing a similar future..and why not. T20 cricket has it all, that too in a much smaller package.

This morning, I came across an editorial in HT, about how Test cricket is a thing of past. Being a hardcore fan of Test Cricket, I almost overlooked the article, but on a second thought decided to understand what these authors have against Test Cricket. Well, I must confess that the article did make me think. I sat down for an hour trying to think what is it about the Test Cricket that fascinates me? What is so intriguing about the T20s which is making it so popular. Here are some of the thought notes:

Test Cricket: Double Innings, Deficit/Lead, Bouncers
T20: Fast paced, Pacing the innings, Importance of slow bowlers

Clearly for a cricket buff like me, a product which offers us all of above would be really great. Hence, I feel that a new version of cricket should be introduced to replace all the three existing forms of cricket. In this version, each team should bat out two innings each of 20 overs duration.
All the four innings should be played on the same day.
This will help in combining the attributes of all three forms of cricket, giving rise to a highly entertaining and rich format of cricket. Some of the rules can be:

1. Both teams get a chance to bat twice, with twenty overs in each innings.
2. The follow on margin can be reduced to 40 runs.
3. The bowlers should be allowed two bouncers in the over.
4. It can be played in either day format (with white clothing) or day night format depending upon the venue.

We can call this version as I40 (International 40) format. I feel this format will surely take the world cricket by storm...what say guys??