T20 cricket could crush everything: Jones

<P><SPAN class="arial size12 black">Dean Jones</SPAN><A href="http://sify.com/sports/fullstory.php?a=jjfwbqcbbde&title=Fans_are_bored_with_50_over_cricket_Dean_Jones&tag=top_sports_news"><STRONG></STRONG></A></P>

MELBOURNE: Twenty20 cricket is like a runaway train, which would crush everything including Test and One-day cricket, if not controlled properly, warned former Australian cricketer Dean Jones.

Jones said the kind of money which private T20 leagues are offering are too good to resist and the ICC must pay well players, who represent country in Test and ODI format.

He cited example of Australia's domestic tournament Sheffield Shield, where players' income has decreased after Big Bash league.

Jones argued that if representing the nation was not rewarding enough financially, the players would automatically be more drawn towards lucrative private leagues.

"T20 cricket cannot be stopped. It is a runaway train prepared to kill everything in its way. I am not joking when I say this. If we don't handle T20 cricket properly, it will crush everything in its way, including the Test and one-day formats," Jones wrote in his column for 'Sydney Morning Herald.'

Jones said Cricket Australia along with the Australian Cricketers Association have to be very careful how they govern the game from now on.

"They dropped the squad from 20 paid players to 18 and payments were also dropped by up to 40 per cent. Let's look at a quality player such as Chris Rogers from the Bushrangers.

"Rogers was earning in the vicinity of USD 100,000, but under the new deal between CA and ACA he is now earning as little as USD 40,000. So this gives me the impression playing first-class cricket is not financially rewarding. Shield cricket has become the ugly sister."