Former India coach Greg Chappell believes cricket's future lies in privately-owned Twenty20 club franchises around the world with Tests taking a back seat. Chappell, who was this week appointed as the new head coach of the Cricket Australia Centre of Excellence, said he could envisage cricket being organized along the lines of European football clubs. “I can see a future where a Mumbai club plays New York, plays London, plays Singapore,” the former Test batsman told the Straits Times here. “There'll be club teams based all over the world and I think that's a good development. “We're going to get to the stage where it is like soccer - the players will play for their clubs and occasionally for their country. So there's always the possibility of conflict, like we see in soccer.” The recent boom in Twenty20 cricket, sparked by the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) this year, has led to concern in some quarters about the future of traditional Test cricket. There are fears that the riches on offer to players in Twenty20 tournaments will make the next generation focus on the big-hitting need to flourish in the 20-over game rather than the more disciplined style of five-day Tests. Chappell said that if the game was to grow beyond its traditional borders, then Twenty20 was the format. Aussies eye India Seamer Stuart Clark said Australia's lopsided one-day series against Bangladesh has been a worthwhile hit-out ahead of next month's tough tour against fierce rival India. The three-match series, in which Australia has an unbeatable 2-0 lead after 180-run and eight-wicket thrashings this week, wraps up on Saturday. It was initially scheduled as a warm-up for the now-postponed Champions Trophy, meaning Australia's next commitment is a gruelling, and possibly contentious, four-Test tour of India. “It's hard when you haven't played for a while and you need to come back in, sometimes the best way to do it is to play,” Clark said. “Okay, the opposition haven't been as good as they'd like to be, but it's still a very good lead-in and experience for what's ahead.” Australia departs for India on Sept. 21 and the first Test in Bangalore starts on Oct. 9.
