New Delhi, Nov 11 (IANS) Former England all-rounder Ian Botham has slammed Twenty20 cricket, saying that it had no place on the international stage.
He also said the greed of cricket’s governing bodies will kill the game.

“I don’t want to see the best players in the world standing there and slogging,” Botham said in an interview to The Wisden Cricketer magazine.

“They are playing too much Twenty20 right now. We have just had a Twenty20 World Cup and within a year we’re going to have another in the Caribbean. It is greed, greed, greed. That is what will kill the game, the greed of the authorities.”

Botham continues his verbal battering, saying T20 should have no place in international cricket and be restricted only to the domestic game.

“Twenty20 has its place but not on the international stage. It is a domestic and franchise sport,” he concludes.

On England’s tour of South Africa, Botham urged Andrew Strauss to be more aggressive as a captain.

“What he has done best (Strauss) is get better with the bat. He will learn to be a better captain, too, and I just hope he doesn’t get too negative.

“England were too defensive in the West Indies earlier in the year and we were only slightly better against Australia. Strauss needs to have confidence in his players to be aggressive.”