New Zealand coach Mike Hesson defended international Twenty20 cricket Monday after his English counterpart Trevor Bayliss called for it to be cut from the sport’s crowded calendar.
Hesson acknowledged England coach Trevor Bayliss’ concerns about burnout among players and staff but said T20 had an important role to play internationally.
“There’s always a workload issue, I think that’s fair, but there’s also a revenue generation issue,” he told reporters.
“In some countries that’s not as big a deal but for New Zealand Cricket, to get 35,000 people to Eden Park is huge for us, huge for the game and huge for the promotion of the game.”
Bayliss sparked the debate after his side failed to qualify for the trans-Tasman T20 series final, despite beating New Zealand by two runs in Hamilton on Sunday.
The Australian, who was appointed as England’s head coach in all forms of the game in 2015, questioned the wisdom of retaining the T20 format at the top level, citing the burden on top players and coaches.
“I wouldn’t play T20 internationals, I’d just let the franchises play,” Bayliss told.
“If we continue putting on so many games there’ll be a certain amount of blowout, not just players but coaches as well.”
“If you want to play a World Cup every four years or whatever it is, maybe six months before you get the international teams and let them play some T20 internationals,” he said.
