Matthew Hayden Sees Cricket Heed Ipl's Example

Matthew Hayden, enjoying huge success in the Indian Premier League, which reaches its climax in South Africa this weekend, has called on the game's governing body to take note of the success of Twenty20 cricket and make future international programs reflect this.

"The market dictates in what form a product moves forward and we've seen in cricket that Twenty20 is the answer to this," Hayden says.

The 37-year-old Australian, who retired from international cricket earlier this year, has been in commanding form in the second IPL tournament, which was transferred to South Africa because of security fears in India during the general election. He is comfortably the competition's top scorer with an aggregate of 546 runs in 11 matches helping his team, the Chennai Super Kings, reach the semi-finals, having finished second to the Delhi Daredevils in the league.

"The international program is designed in such a way as to keep athletes busy to the point of exhaustion," Hayden, who struck 30 centuries in his 15-year Test career, says, adding that his success in the 2009 IPL has a lot to do with the fact that he is no longer under the intense pressure that the authorities placed on players with the hectic international schedule.

"There's no question that from my point of view I've been able to relax and enjoy the tournament," he says. "I can be fresh and ready to go without the jetlag of a busy international schedule."

He describes the crowds in South Africa as phenomenal, including the one last night for the Super Kings' final league match against the Kings XI Punjab. "I never played in front of a bigger crowd at Kingsmead in one-day internationals for Australia versus South Africa. It shows the extent of the patronage not only for this competition but for Twenty20 cricket in general."

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