Afew months back, Australia went head to head with Pakistan in a three-match One Day International series. After losing the first match, Australia went on to lose the second one. Naturally, the team was under a bit of scrutiny for losing the second game, but more so for choosing to rest its star players in the series decider. Surprisingly enough, even Pat Cummins, the captain of the side, was rested. The result was a 2-1 series defeat at home.
Former captain Michael Clarke criticised Australia’s approach towards ODI cricket, further implying that such an approach also diminishes the interest of the fans in the 50-over format.
Perhaps, the ICC has treated the format in the same manner over the last few years as well.
Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins of Australia celebrate. (Photo by Morgan Hancock – CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)
The topic of the “slow demise” of 50-over cricket seems to be resurfacing after every few months. Even five years back, when England won their first ever ODI World Cup, there wasn’t a lot of concern around it. However, since 2021, the number of fans turning up at the stadium for ODI cricket has been decreasing at a significant rate. So, are fans actually losing interest in the format?
To answer this question, it’s best to pay attention to some stats, and the stats show that from 2021 to 2024, we had three T20 World Cups (three world cups in three years).
When the calendar is packed with this amount of T20 ICC events, it’s only natural for teams around the world to fit as much T20 cricket as possible into their schedule for preparation. Thus, during this period, there had been a massive influx of T20s. As a result, ODI cricket took a back seat.
Some cricket legends have even suggested to scrap ODI bilateral series entirely. In my opinion, it should be the other way around.
With so many franchise T20 cricket leagues in the world, fans already have access to plenty of T20 cricket. Based on that perspective, it’s worth considering whether T20 international bilaterals are needed anymore.
Ben Stokes at 2023 World Cup. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
The problem isn’t with the duration of the format as some have opined. If that were true, then people wouldn’t pay to watch Test cricket, the longest format of the game. And fans love Test cricket. The recent Border-Gavaskar series is a testament to that. So, If people have time to watch Test cricket, then making time for one dayers wouldn’t be an issue for them.
The interesting thing about ODIs is that it’s neither the shortest format of the game nor the longest. One doesn’t have to wait for five days to get a result, but at the same time, it provides more opportunity than a T20 for the game to ebb and flow in any direction.
And therein lies the uniqueness of this format. ODI cricket can be revived if the concerned bodies are focusing enough on it. Maybe, the reintroduction of tri-nation series could help the situation.
The last two ODI World Cups provided a grand spectacle. It wouldn’t be a long shot to say that the ODI World Cup is the pinnacle of cricket. There is value in this format. And so it needs to be protected.
