SYDNEY, 2 February 2005 — Twenty20 cricket will be formally included in the Australian interstate competition next season after the abbreviated form of the game proved an instant hit with fans.

Cricket Australia played two experimental Twenty20 games this summer and said they were so successful that the six states would play a competition in that format as part of revamped schedule.

“The Australian public has told us they love Twenty20 and we want to offer fans in each state a chance to see it,” Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland said in a statement yesterday.

Cricket Australia also announced some changes to its international program next season with the final schedule to be released later this month.

Australia will host the World XI in three one-day matches in Melbourne in October then a six-day “Test” in Sydney.

They are also scheduled to play three tests against West Indies and three against South Africa.

Venue Change for New Zealand-Australia Match

In Wellington, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) officials said yesterday they had dropped Hamilton as one of the venues for next month’s one-day series with Australia following criticism about the state of the pitch.

The NZC said the match, the fourth in a five-game series, would now be played at Wellington’s Basin Reserve on March 1.

“The Basin Reserve presented us with the best option for a midweek match,” NZC chief executive Martin Snedden said.

The Hamilton pitch was heavily criticized after last month’s charity match against a World XI when the two teams made a combined score of 164 runs in a match that lasted only 36 overs.

Clarke Prepared for the Bad and the Good in Cricket

In Melbourne, rising young Australian cricketer Michael Clarke said yesterday he was prepared for his golden run to end after winning the Allan Border Medal.

The dashing 23-year-old batsman on Monday won Australian cricket’s top individual honor ahead of the more experienced Damien Martyn. Clarke has been the sensation of Australian cricket in the last year with his continued strong one-day form and centuries on Test debut home and away.

“I’ve been really enjoying my cricket, especially over the last 12 months — I made my debut for Australia in Test cricket, I’ve been doing pretty well in one-dayers and hopefully, fingers crossed, I will continue doing well,” Clarke told reporters yesterday.

“But there does come a time where unfortunately in this great game you can’t do well all the time and I know that’s going to happen.