Centenary of Bradman's birth

Gilchrist confident Tests will survive Twenty20 revolution

Cricinfo staff

August 28, 2008

	Adam Gilchrist expects Tests will still be an option for the next generation of players © Getty Images

Adam Gilchrist does not expect Twenty20 will ruin Test cricket despite the explosion of the new game. While Ricky Ponting used part of his speech at the Bradman Oration to talk of the strengths and weaknesses of the fresh face, Gilchrist attended a 100th anniversary lunch for Bradman at the Melbourne Cricket Club and spoke of his belief that the traditional formats would survive.

"Twenty20 cricket - will it ruin Test cricket? I don't think so," Gilchrist said in the Age. "I really do think that the basic fundamentals of the game are still the same.

"We survived World Series Cricket 30 years ago ... It is a game that does have the ability to mutate, to come in different forms - short, long, energetic. Some may say slow, boring, relaxing - whatever your take is, it does have the ability to evolve and turn itself around."

Gilchrist is part of the Indian Premier League and will lead the Deccan Chargers in the second competition next year. He challenged the game's rulers to show they could manage the new developments.

"There are a lot of issues that cricket faces at the moment - not just the Twenty20, not just the IPL," Gilchrist said. "I believe they [India] account for about 80% of world cricket revenue. It's a reasonably strong position to be in, one would think, as a business.

"So how do they, how does the ICC and the cricket world, manage that? Not deal with it, but manage it, because it's real and it's happening and fair play to them. There's immense passion for the game there and a great love for it."

Gilchrist never met Bradman, but John Bradman said his father enjoyed watching Gilchrist play. "He thought his ability was absolutely second to none," John Bradman said, "and that his modesty and integrity was of the very highest order."

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