Twenty20 Cricket, Northamptonshire Steelbacks v Worcestershire Royals, Northampton Cricket Ground, Friday

‘Monty, Monty, give us a wave, Monty...give us a wave’.

So went the crowd’s chant at Friday night’s 20-20 fixture at Northampton.

There have been attempts to get cricket to a new audience before, including, I recall, playing games at football stadiums, but nothing like Twenty20. Finally, it seems to have worked.

Having been a fan of test cricket for 30 years, I’ve always regarded the one-day game as interesting without being fascinating and often a bit predictable. But Twenty20, a blatantly popularist invention, has already produced some cracking cricket and generated impressive interest.

A recent televised game from India attracted 12 times the global TV audience of the most recent Grand Prix.

Northampton’s ground was full for this cup clash with the Royals, and a substantial part of the crowd comprised under-18s. Rock music greeted every boundary - and there were plenty of them - the action was virtually non-stop and it was all over in less than three hours. Unfortunately from where we were sitting, the public address announcements were barely audible, so it was difficult to identify who was bowling at times.

Apart from that, it was an enjoyable, family evening out in a fun atmosphere, and pretty cheap - £12 for adults and £6 for children, and you can get a season ticket to nearly all the one-day games for £75. Not bad.

And did Monty give us a wave? Yes, but he did precious little else on the night. One over for ten runs, and he refused to sign an autograph for my son when I caught up with him as he left the field. I didn’t mind though...the wave was enough. John Howes.

Verdict: Action-packed family entertainment.

q Find out more about Twenty20 crickets matches on these sites:

www.northantscricket.com

www.edgbaston.com