Ways to preserve all formats

[White Ball]

As a child of the 90s it does sadden me that there is growing talk of ODI cricket being under threat. With that being said I do appreciate that with schedules already packed and with the commercial interests there are clear challenges.

I have a few solutions, firstly the IPL having a longer window doesn’t need to be a bad thing, as it means the matches don’t have to be as cramped together and therefore it reduces the strain on the player and the risk of injury. With that being said of course the other countries have leagues and will rightly not want their tournaments to be compromised therefore I would propose..

1. It must be mandatory that each main T20 franchise league team has to be partnered with teams in every other league, I know a few CPL teams are partnered with IPL teams and the South Africa league has been bought largely by IPL owners but every main league must have a team that is partnered with a team from each major league effectively making this into a global T20 league. This ensures that the boards are happy as they get to have a world class tournament while there is continuity for the players as they can play throughout the year for their team or partner team around the world.

2. Because this global league format and it’s structure (partnering teams) will effectively be going throughout the year given the countries that would be hosting and their respective climates. There then doesn’t need to be a window for International Cricket, you would simply pause the league for a global tournament.

3. Test series and ODI series can be scheduled as normal you will get your star players playing in the leagues when they can and when no test and odi cricket but otherwise the up and coming players will play in the league, the league can carry on and be a success even when the big names are playing in a Test match. If the global league is happening all year around then a few weeks here or there without a big name won’t damage the product because you will have new stories and new young players coming through.

 

[Athlai]

ODI World Cup is still the biggest event in cricket.

Getting rid of meaningless 7 match bilateral series and replacing them with 7 more easily digestible games of T20? Who cares.

 

[White Ball]

ODI World Cup is still the biggest event in cricket.

Getting rid of meaningless 7 match bilateral series and replacing them with 7 more easily digestible games of T20? Who cares.

The way the media have been talking there has been talk that the ODI World Cup after next could be the last and that the format could face elimination.

Personally I don’t think this will happen but thought it was worth having a discussion about.

 

[Shady Slim]

as i said in the other thread the problem with the odi format right now is it blends the nominally unattractive parts of the longest and shortest format.

shri's suggestion which i'm certain has been mentioned elsewhere too of scrapping the two new balls and instead using a ball with integrity is a huge start. the production of mass roads for odis is another thing that, in tandem has to change

 

[GotSpin]

Hard to see anything helping until the boards can be bothered playing their best XI

 

[subshakerz]

The ODI format is fine except for some tweaks like stopping the ball change. You need to limit the bilateral matches and focus on tournaments only so the stakes are high.

 

[Xuhaib]

With all due respect to Rassie I think he is a brilliant player but if he is averaging 70 odd with a SR of 90+ surely we need to look at the type of pitches we are serving for odis surley no way he is Viv Richards 1.5X

 

[SteveNZ]

ODI World Cup is still the biggest event in cricket.

Getting rid of meaningless 7 match bilateral series and replacing them with 7 more easily digestible games of T20? Who cares.

The ODI World Cup ceases to exist if there's not going to be a decent schedule of ODI games between times. And it looks like national boards are doing everything they can do to ensure there isn't.

Hard to see anything helping until the boards can be bothered playing their best XI

This is a major issue, obviously.

The calendar, the FTP, the scheduling of tours is, to me, the biggest factor that can doom or reinvigorate ODI cricket. I don't buy any of the stuff about ODIs being boring - that product wasn't a major issue until T20 cannibalised it. As long as there is space given in the calendar for major nations to play their best XI more often than not, it's prioritised as a format - and above T20, which is a piss weak international format - and things like pitches, the right sorts of balls/amount of new balls etc is right, it can still survive.

The unfortunate thing is we can't entrust national boards to protect it. They'll continue to look solely after the bottom line. It'll be up to the ICC to preserve that format, and the Super League won't cut it - unless that structure guarantees ODIs place on the calendar.

I think it's important to push back against these 'developments' in society where the capitalist mindset sets out to commodify everything. 50-over cricket might not be to everyone's liking, but it sure as **** is a better test of cricketing skills than lollipop cricket (T20). It leaves a longer lasting memory too - I can remember many, many ODIs but ****ed if I can remember the details of any non World Cup T20I (apart from the first one at Eden Park with afros and 70s regalia).

 

[TheJediBrah]

I think an ODI world cup every 4 years could actually be a cool event if no one plays any ODI cricket in between

You sort of go into the tournament blind and have to figure out whether to pick mostly your T20 players or your Test players or whatever mixture of each, and figure out how to pace the innings and adjust to the format as you go. Could be really fun

 

[Prince EWS]

With all due respect to Rassie I think he is a brilliant player but if he is averaging 70 odd with a SR of 90+ surely we need to look at the type of pitches we are serving for odis surley no way he is Viv Richards 1.5X

I think a lot of it is the bowling too. Test bowlers basically only play ODIs in World Cups now. Knocking around second string bowlers, project players and part-timers in the middle overs and then slapping a totally ruined ball around at the end on an absolute road is not the world's toughest gig.

 

[thierry henry]

ODI World Cup is still the biggest event in cricket.

Getting rid of meaningless 7 match bilateral series and replacing them with 7 more easily digestible games of T20? Who cares.

Notwithstanding TJB's suggestion, it is a bit absurd to have the "main" World Cup in a format no-one plays. You'd think teams wanting to prepare sufficiently to win The World Cup would be incentive enough to play some proper ODI cricket. But I dunno, maybe the WHOLE WORLD HAS GONE MAD.

 

[RossTaylorsBox]

Actually it's a great idea.

 

[thierry henry]

Yeah but why would anyone who wants to win the World Cup agree to not prepare for the World Cup

Plus also it's bad cos T20, but you know whatever

 

[Daemon]

We may not see very high quality ODI cricket if teams just stopped playing them.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Notwithstanding TJB's suggestion, it is a bit absurd to have the "main" World Cup in a format no-one plays. You'd think teams wanting to prepare sufficiently to win The World Cup would be incentive enough to play some proper ODI cricket. But I dunno, maybe the WHOLE WORLD HAS GONE MAD.

Well realistically speaking, if it did happen, no doubt teams would organise their own "friendlies" as preparation

 

[NZTailender]

I think an ODI world cup every 4 years could actually be a cool event if no one plays any ODI cricket in between

You sort of go into the tournament blind and have to figure out whether to pick mostly your T20 players or your Test players or whatever mixture of each, and figure out how to pace the innings and adjust to the format as you go. Could be really fun

This, but for T20s instead.