Cricket dying, needs T20 for survival: Lara

Legendary West Indian batsman Brian Lara feels cricket is a "dying sport", which has got a fresh lease of life in Twenty20 -- a format that has revived the spectators' interest in the game.

"Cricket is a dying sport and I believe that Twenty20 is going to be beneficial for many reasons," Lara said at a symposium in Trinidad.

"This new game has brought a different spectator. Not necessarily the right ones I think; the ones that just want to go to the game and don't even know what happens. But at the end of the day, spectators and television is what make sport and I'm very happy and very welcoming of the Twenty20 game," he was quoted as saying by the 'Jamaica Observer'.

Lara, who has scored 400 runs in an innings and played two seasons for the rebel Indian Cricket League, urged the batsmen to develop attractive shots suited to Twenty20 instead of trying to whack every ball out of the ground.

"I hope that we do see a little bit of artistry because right now it's a lot of 'wam-bam thank you mam'.

"I believe that at some point in time people are going to understand that there are tactical ways of playing it and then you are going to see the true talent come out," he said.