International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive Malcolm Speed has described the inaugural ICC World Twenty20 (T20) tournament in South Africa as "a great event".
The two-week tournament ended on Monday, with India defeating its arch rival Pakistan by five runs in a thrilling final at the packed Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg.
"The tournament has been a great success, and there has also been some great cricket," Speed was quoted as saying by the SAPA news agency.
He said the final between India and Pakistan had produced some great cricket, and the matches were played in good spirit.
Speed said the next T20 tournament would be held in England in 2009, after which a decision would be taken on how many T20 tournaments would be played between 2012 and 2014.
"Given the success of this tournament, I think it is extremely likely that there will be two T20 tournaments and one Champions Trophy in those years," he said.
Speed said the ICC wanted the main focus on Twenty20 cricket to be at county, provincial and state level, with international teams limiting themselves to three home T20 matches and four away matches each year.
"Cricket has had great difficulty in drawing large crowds for second level first class matches," he said. "Twenty20 cricket has solved that problem, so we want it to be played at that level as much as possible."
Speed also praised tournament director Steve Elworthy of Cricket South Africa (CSA) for the way in which the tournament had been run.
"South Africa performed all its obligations as a host nation with style and a minimum of fuss," said Speed. "I couldn't be more complimentary."
Source: Xinhua
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