New Delhi, Jan 16 (PTI) A part of West Indies cricket’s golden period in the 1970s and 80s, Gordon Greenidge still watches “only Tests” as he hasn’t yet warmed up to the slam bang nature of the T20 version.

On a whirlwind trip of the national capital, the 71-year-old arrived at the Feroz Shah Kotla from Delhi’s Terminal 3 on Delhi Metro. The bat manufacturing company that invited Greenidge for a promotional event, factored in the heavy traffic owing to a political event.

One can safely bet that the late afternoon tube rail passengers would have hardly recognised the man, whose square cuts were the most ferocious and still remembered by contemporaries.

“I am not criticising T20 but it is not my game. Yes, it is there and there to stay. It is exciting, then there is enjoyment. When you go to a game, you want to enjoy. Yes, it’s good to watch but it’s not a game I watch on a regular basis.

“I am the Test match person, and I have always been one. So it’s not criticism but it is my personal view,” Greenidge said during his short but eventful media interaction.

For a purist, with 19 Test hundreds and 30 international tons overall, he opined that T20 is purely a “spectator’s sport” and not a cricketer’s.

So would ODIs become less relevant with the passage of time.

“Frankly, on a personal note, I wouldn’t want 50 overs to be replaced by T20 cricket. I believe T20 is purely a spectator’s sport and not a cricketer’s sport. To me. it’s like fast food. Test match is the real cricket. 50 overs is like a midway, 20 overs and now it has gone 10 overs.

“Where are you going to go from here. 2 overs, 1 over?” he asked sarcastically.

For Greenidge, the bigger concern is cricket’s most pristine form — Tests.

“Let’s keep cricket alive but please do not banish Test cricket. That is the Test and real cricket we are here for or we all grew up with.” But Greenidge also fully understands the viewer’s connect with the shortest format.

“We want to see as much as possible excitement in cricket in a day’s play. Where you can do a full day’s employment and then go and see a game in the evening, take your family along, it is great but it is purely for spectator’s enjoyment.” I don’t watch Windies cricket anymore ======================= To a query from

Source: PTI News