Rob Houwing’s TV sport column

This, I feel, is the really acid test for the sustainability as a “growth” concept of Twenty20 cricket, both from a TV viewership and bums-on-seats point of view.

I refer to a frenzied schedule of the game in this format, starting on Friday with the opening ceremony and first match in the third annual Indian Premier League (IPL).

As if the IPL isn’t going to be enough to make you giddy, we then experience a negligible, five-day opportunity after April 25 (the final) to catch breath before the T20 circus shifts to the other side of the world and another edition of the ICC World Twenty20.

That event stretches from April 30 to May 16 in the Caribbean.

But wait: a la those Verimark ads, there’s more! Not quite done with T20, action then switches to Port of Spain, Trinidad, for a once-off (mercifully) international in that format to mark the start of South Africa’s full tour of the West Indies on May 19.

So you can confidently say that, starting now, SuperSport will be showing T20 cricket pretty much daily for 69 days (or read: just a tad under 10 weeks).

It’s an unprecedented stint of cricket’s “sexy” code … and by the time it’s over might it just be found – with apologies to Right Said Fred -- to be too sexy for its own shirt?

I suppose the approach to take by cricket fans is that near-daily T20 activity is still far better than being forced to watch a 24-hour bog-snorkelling channel, although I suspect even the bog-snorkelling administrators don’t schedule fixtures quite as zealously as a certain Lalit Modi does.

And you can sort of watch the IPL as you come and go, given that the lion’s share of matches will be fairly conveniently televised, in South African terms, in late afternoon slots (although when there are double-headers there will also be some 11:30 and 12:30 starts).

Naturally most of the action will be focussed around SS2, traditionally SuperSport’s main cricket channel, and we kick off with the opening ceremony in Mumbai at 15:00 on Friday (though this is on SS1 and SS HD, note!) before going into the limb-loosening match between the Deccan Chargers (champions from the SA-staged event in 2009) and Kolkata Knight Riders.

Your extended, autumnal sugar fix is about to be served …

Rob’s awesome foursome:

1. Warriors v Highveld Lions, Standard Bank Pro20 final cricket
Port Elizabeth, Friday 18:00, M-Net HD, CSN & SS2
What? No Titans, no Cobras? That’s right … it still seems hard to believe that two rather more unsung franchises will instead slug it out for the last bit of domestic silverware this summer. It’s been a wonderful limited-overs renaissance by the Warriors in 2009/10, with the MTN40 spoils already safely in the cupboard and now the lucrative Champions League to look forward to. The Lions have spiritedly wrestled the odds all season, but I reckon this game -- before that passionate, oompah crowd in PE -- is a bridge too far for them.

2. Stormers v Hurricanes, Vodacom Super 14 rugby
Cape Town, Saturday 19:10, M-Net & SS1
Relax, Bulls fans: I know you’re the table-toppers but I haven’t given you feature status simply because I firmly believe Victor Matfield and company will see off the limited Highlanders (now rocked by curfew-busting suspensions to Michael Hobbs and Adam Thomson) at Loftus in the earlier kickoff with a bit to spare. This one’s much harder to call, especially as I sense the ‘Canes will come out smoking after their bumbling Bloemfontein showing. The Stormers’ strong team ethic should see them narrowly past the post – I suggested by five points on SuperBru -- but individual game-breakers are hardly in short supply among the visiting ranks. Expect a cracker.

3. F1 Bahrain Grand Prix, motorsport
Bahrain, Sunday 14:00, CSN, SS7 & Maximo
And away they go … well, on Sunday anyway, for the most keenly-awaited F1 season in recent times. It is going to be fascinating to see how seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher (41) fares after a three-year layoff, of course. He’s no spring chicken … but he’s also a relatively young buck. Confused? Well, consider that the oldest world champ is Argentina’s iconic Juan Manuel Fangio (1957, aged 46 and 41 days), the oldest winner of a GP Italy’s Luigi Fagioli (53 and 22 days, French GP in 1951) and oldest starter of a race Louis Chiron (a ripe old 55 and 292 days, Monaco GP of 1955). I guess I’m saying we could yet hear a lot more from Schumi, whatever happens in Bahrain …

4. Chelsea v Inter Milan, Champions League soccer
London, Tuesday 21:45, SS3
The heat is very much on Chelsea after fellow-English campaigners Arsenal and Manchester United romped into the quarter-finals with startling ease, beating off Porto 5-0 and AC Milan 4-0 in respective second-leg knockout ties. The Blues lost the first leg 2-1 against wily Inter, although that away goal could yet be a crucial tool as they bid to turn things around at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea, remember, were pipped by eventual champions Barcelona in last year’s semis and are desperate to have a second stab (their first was in 2008) at the final. This one’s very delicately balanced, though, and will make for riveting TV …