The Indians celebrate during their match against Pakistan

Whatever the outcome of the next week’s cricket in South Africa, Paul Collingwood will hope that it does not detract from the tremendous strides made by his one-day side. I say “his” because, as with most good captains, the team have taken on many of the captain’s traits. They hustle and harass opponents and make the most of their gifts — something Collingwood has always tried and often succeeded to do since he first pulled on an England jersey.

Convincing as Twenty20 cricket has become, it would be dangerous for the game at large to lose sight of the attraction and advantages that are still clear in 50-over cricket. It was once unimaginable to say it but the options, subtleties and basic requirements of technique and tenacity in the 50-over format seem rather appealing. The players have to make choices and we see more of their character because of this.

They dictate the play more than is possible in Twenty20, which basically does the dictating itself because it is so short. The sooner that 50-over cricket is put on an elite pedestal, with a shorter, more meaningful World Cup as its showpiece, the sooner Twenty20 can become the game’s sole vehicle for unconditional globalisation.

Twenty20 is exciting because it is condensed. It is the natural heir to the 40-over cricket that quickly established itself in the late Sixties as the “new black” — hip, fast, accessible and satisfying. Previously unseen audiences were as seduced then as they are now. Forty years on, it is obvious to everyone except the people who run the game in England day-to-day, that the 40-over format is a white elephant. In fact, it is more dangerous than that. It is an energy sapper, an injury-sucker and a diversion from the accepted formats that are played everywhere else in the world. And all for a few bob more.

Ask Rahul Dravid. He simply could not take another week of the responsibility. Washed out by the expectation of India and the schedule put before him by those who govern, he stood down from the captaincy in the hope that he might continue his career with some sense of vibrancy.

How fast our world moves. Not a moment after digesting the impact of the newly formed Indian Cricket League, we hear of Lalit Modi, vice-president of the BCCI, along with representatives of England, Australia and South Africa announce their own private circus to be called the Champions Twenty20 League. And we thought the new age of cricket was on show in South Africa. Be assured, Modi’s announcement will change the canvas.

This was no knee-jerk to the Zee TV-driven ICL, apparently it had been on the drawing board for two years. At least, that is what Modi claims.

The new club-driven league will incorporate franchises for which both individuals and corporations have already expressed an interest. As in American Football, the players will be available on a draft basis, raising riveting questions about their market value. No wonder Sachin Tendulkar hasn’t retired.

Quite how this will fit annually into the log-jam of a cricket calendar, we have no idea. What we can surmise is that the players will soon be 2ft 2in.

The rebel ICL — Kapil Dev’s little baby — may be defunct before a referral is called for. With no players of real note, no structure to speak of and no sanction, it had a battle royal on its hands anyway but now that the best current players have a lip-smacking option, the game may be up. The ICL’s smartest trick would be to rethink its market place. Cricket is yet to pull off a convincing, attractive Seniors Tour.

Now there’s a thought for Kapil and his cronies. India can take everything else so why not a bunch of guys in their late thirties and early forties jabbing away for a few bucks a head and the adoration of a few million more on television.