WHEN 20/20 cricket first burst onto the scene, they said it would never last.

The cricket purists loathed it. And many still do.

'It just wasn't cricket' they argued.

The 'wham, bang, thankyou ma'am' version could only destroy the game, they protested.

But here we are, a few years later, and 20/20 cricket is proving more popular than ever.

The fans love it, so too the players, not to mention the TV networks.

And its popularity might soon be embraced in Bermuda where the first 20/20 league was launched by Bermuda Cricket Board last weekend to begin the new season.

Whether national coach Gus Logie is an advocate as he seeks to prepare his senior team for qualification for another World Cup . . . that's a question he might prefer not to answer.

The solid technique, the patience and discipline required for 50-over games, let alone four-day matches such as the Intercontinental Cup, have all been thrown out of the window.

With no time to build an innings, players have no option but to come out swinging. And bowlers have no option but to concentrate on line and length and hope for the best. They're either going to pick up a bundle of quick wickets or be smashed out of the ground.

From what we've seen at the hugely popular Stanford 20/20 tournament in the Caribbean and similar competitions now played by Test countries, the game has been given a breath of fresh air.

Given the manner in which many of Bermuda's cricketers play the game under normal regulations, they should have few difficulties in adapting to the new league.

What's important on this Island, is that changes had to be made to rekindle enthusiasm among not only the players but the public.

In recent seasons, notwithstanding the crowds who flock to Cup Match and Eastern Counties, there are crowds at regular league and cup games that could be counted on one hand.

If the new league can remedy that decline, it's more than served its purpose.

If it provides excitement, attracts spectators in growing numbers, it more than deserves its place on the calendar.

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SPECTATORS at last Sunday's singles final of the Bermuda XL Open have probably never seen a better match on a local court.

It capped off another marvellous week during which Bermuda got a glimpse of some of the stars of the future.

Don't forget the likes of Andy Roddick, James Blake and several others first honed their skills on the clay courts of Coral Beach before taking the tennis world by storm.

And don't be surpised if Sunday's winner, 18-year-old Kei Nishikori, follows a similar route.

But as organiser Alec Anderson said earlier this week, maybe it's time for the tournament to take the step up to another level, and become a fully-fledged ATP Tour event – a tournament in which we could host not only the players with potential, but some of the big names who have already arrived on the world stage.

The facilities are good enough, the organisation is first class, there are spaces available on the pro calendar, and the ATP, the governing body of tennis, are known to have been impressed.

No surprise then, that the only ingredient preventing such a move is – money!

While XL and other sponsors have been extremely generous over the years, the backing they provide simply isn't enough to attract the big names.

Nishikori will have been grateful for the $14,000 he received on Sunday night, but it will barely pay his expenses for the next couple of months.

With Government handing out wads of cash to finance cricket, football, as well as the Grand Slam of Golf, they might now consider making an investment in the growth of this particular event, which regularly attracts between 500 and 1,000 visitors.

This year, we understand, they didn't contribute a single cent!