It's not often that surfing cops a valid comparison to cricket but after this weekend's Boost Mobile SurfSho at Bondi Beach I think one is in order.

A few years back Twenty-20 cricket came along, shunning the tactical subtleties of test cricket in favour of big-hitting, crowd-pleasing entertainment. Test cricket, in return, had to make adjustments to it's product in order to retain crowd numbers and market relevance.

The organisers of the SurfSho have done a similar thing with surfing. And like Twenty-20 cricket the Boost SurfSho was loud, colourful, gaudy and a hell of a lot of fun. I saw more flips and spins in one afternoon than in the last couple of years combined.

The surf for the final day was as good as the organisers could've wished for - three to four feet of slightly onshore peaks. If you are thinking that sounds less than ideal then understand that this is a competition that revolves entirely around big aerial moves. Moves borne out of this type of surf.

The heats consisted of six surfers attempting to land whatever move was spun on the 'trick wheel' - Superman Air, No Grab, Shove-It, what have you. Being a first time viewer of this format I was blown away by the success rate of the attempts. Forced to put a number on it I'd say 15 moves were attempted per heat and 1 in 3 were made. A stunning percentage and one that begs the question: If surfers are allowed fifteen waves in a WT heat then why aren't we seeing more big moves?

The answer, of course, has to do with criteria and the surfers being hamstrung by tactics.

So, although it had no bearing on the World Title, the SurfSho is testament to the fact that Hi-Fi surfing is possible outside of filmclips, and with slight changes to the existing criteria can become a reality in competition.

Enough of the business talk...

The first move I saw when I walked into the tent this morning was a Kerrupt Flip by Owen Wright. Ten years ago it would've made the cover of every magazine on earth. This morning it scored an 8.13. Clearly the judges wanted the contestants to surf outside themselves.

The heats rotated all morning with the big stars surfing against lesser names like Alex Chacon and Cooper Chapman, neither of whom appeared daunted by the occasion blazing each time they hit the water. Chacon nailed a whip-fast Superman Air in the dying seconds of one heat to rousing applause while Chapman was adept at every move on the wheel, pulling them all repeatedly.

As for the big names, Kelly didn't surf as well as we know he can, yet it didn't stop him being mobbed on the beach. Jordy had one or two explosions at the start of the day but suffered during later heats, and the same could be said of Taj. Despite the high-fliers pulling the crowds it was the non-compliers like Asher Pacey and the up-and-comers like Chacon, Chapman, Craig Anderson and Chippa Wilson that pulled the cheers.

In the final Owen Wright raced a four foot left toward the south end looking for a section that would let him take flight. He found it, grabbed, inverted, spun and then stuck a wild air reverse. The punters hanging off the verandahs at Bondi Icebergs had a perfect view and they erupted like it was Bay 13.

The Big O scored 9.8 for that move - the highest of the day - and with it took his second SurfSho title. In his inaugural year on the World Tour, Wright is proving himself proficient in all forms of the surfing game and was a fitting winner today - a future champion putting on a display of future moves. The clearest vision I've yet seen. //STUART NETTLE