It was the morning after the night before, and all was calm.

Nothing stirred at Eden Park, the queues were gone if not forgotten, and cricket's Twenty20 circus was on the road to Christchurch, where it would explode before another bumper crowd of buoyant fans who hardly seem to care who wins or loses.

The Twenty20 match between New Zealand and England at Eden Park - which drew 30,000 spectators - was a great success, although advanced claims of a sell-out proved over-optimistic.

The duels between New Zealand and England have also disproved the theory that Twenty20 always hangs in the balance - it was clear a long time before the final overs that England would win.

So what do we make of it all? Is Twenty20 really a salvation for a game that is struggling in some old strongholds, offering a thrilling new road ahead. Or is it sporting candy, a rush of excitement that invites a subsequent and depressing lull?

A poll of devoted cricket types after the Eden Park match brought a diverse response.

* Fan One went to the game, absolutely loved it, as did his son who attended separately. Twenty20 is here to stay, this fellow enthused.

* Fan Two is a test follower who lumps Twenty20 and one-dayers together.

He was upset that Auckland had missed out on hosting a test again and had a take-it-or-leave-it attitude to the shorter forms.

* Fan Three announced that he and his cricket-loving mates thought Twenty20 frivolous and stupid, that it forced great batters into ugly shots and would breed slack techniques.

* Fans Four and Five thought it ridiculous that cricket was now played in three forms. Four likened it to rugby introducing nines. He believed the "boring" 50 over game should be scrapped, leaving tests and Twenty20. Fan Five believed that Twenty20 had upped the entertainment factor and extended the scoring horizons in all cricket - a good development.

* Fan Six attended with two women who had never been to a cricket match before and didn't understand the rules. They had "absolutely loved" the Twenty20 action and couldn't wait to go to a one-day game.

* Fan Seven "quite liked" Twenty20, but said the authorities had to make sure it didn't run riot.

Opinions might be divided, but Twenty20 is an unqualified success in one area right now - crowds. A game at Melbourne between Australia and India drew 85,000 and India were greeted by millions of fans when they won the Twenty20 World Cup.

Rugby - the sporting pacesetter in New Zealand - struggles to get 30,000 to Eden Park, and cricket is in no position to turn this financial godsend away although a rash of games might prove counterproductive.