I certainly believe there's a future for a third-generation game Martin Crowe

Crowe, who devised Cricket Max in New Zealand in the 1990s, said: "A 20-over one-innings game is really just a diluted form of the one-day game.

"And the one-day game at the moment I think is a little ho-hum in itself. I think it needs a tweak."

In Cricket Max, each team batted for two innings of 10-overs apiece.

Crowe also invented a "MaxZone" in front of the wicket, in which all runs scored were doubled, encouraging batsmen to play straight.

But despite its popularity on television, it gradually faded and is now defunct.

Australia and New Zealand will contest the first Twenty20 international in Auckland next February and Twenty20 has so far thrived domestically in England and South Africa.

Cricket Australia has been reluctant to leap into a domestic 20-over-a-side competition until the format is embedded in the international calendar.

We might as well replace the bowler with a ball machine and just play 11 batsmen Darren Berry Former Victoria captain

But it has scheduled an exhibition match between Australia A and the touring Pakistan team this summer in Adelaide.

Crowe added: "I certainly believe that (for) what I call a third-generation game, or the three-hour game, I think there's a future.

"We came unstuck with ours because I think New Zealand Cricket didn't feel they were perhaps getting global support, so they slowly downgraded it."

Former Victorian captain Darren Berry recently warned the Twenty20 slogfest might ruin young spinners, saying "we might as well replace the bowler with a ball machine and just play 11 batsmen."