PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC)

Legendary West Indies cricketer Brian Lara has endorsed the Twenty20 concept, but wants batsmen to develop a more attractive approach to cricket's shortest form.

The record-holder for the highest scores in Test and first-class cricket, Lara said he hoped Twenty20 could reach a point where true batsmanship replaced the current cavalier approach.

"I hope that we do see a little bit of artistry because right now it's a lot of 'wam-bam thank you mam'," the former West Indies captain pointed out.

"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."

Lara was speaking at the ninth TSTT Sport Foundation's Sport for Thought symposium at Cascadia Hotel in St Ann's Monday.

The genius left-hander, who quit international cricket suddenly in 2007, said he believed the emergence of Twenty20 would act as an impetus for a sport that was on the decline.

"Cricket is a dying sport and I believe that Twenty20 is going to be beneficial for many reasons," he said.

"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."

The symposium, which runs until Thursday, will see addresses from Trinidad & Tobago Cricket Board president, Deryck Murray and FIFA vice-president, Jack Warner.