September 25, 2009
Let spectators decide the future of one-dayers
Posted on 09/25/2009 in One-day cricket
The current ICC Champions Trophy has been packaged for the consumer, because one-day cricket is now in a buyer’s market, writes Harsha Bhogle in the Indian Express. He says this tournament will also decide on the future of bilateral contests and single venue tournaments.
Now the viewer and the spectator will sit in judgement and that is how it should always be. They are pretty uncomplicated fellows and they don’t really care much for either heritage or the future. They will look at the offering, if it’s good they will buy it, otherwise they will move on. And this tournament will give us a very good idea of which way they are going.
September 24, 2009
ODI cricket needs to return to basics
Posted on 09/24/2009 in One-day cricket
The viability of ODIs in the wake of Twenty20 cricket has been a subject of much discussion in recent months. There have been suggestions made by current and former cricketers to liven up the format, but Michael Atherton, writing in the Times, feels the best way to keep ODIs alive is to deregulate it so that it becomes less formulaic or predictable.
If captains could place their fielders where they wanted to, rather than where regulations dictate, there is a chance they might start to think again and a chance that one side’s tactics might differ significantly from another’s. If a captain could bowl his best bowler for more than the stipulated ten overs, there is a chance that he would and that attacking cricket played by the best players would become more a feature of a one-day match. Powerplays dictate the pace of the game to batsmen; do without them and watch batsmen take the initiative again.
September 20, 2009
Putting all eggs in one overburdened basket
Posted on 09/20/2009 in One-day cricket
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A decent balance between bat and ball will make for good viewing during the Champions Trophy
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Even though Twenty20 cricket has proved to be the rage for fans and sponsors, with two World Cups already scheduled – in 2011 and 2015 – claims of the demise of the 50-over format may be a touch premature. Anand Vasu explains in his blog on the Hindustan Times website.
As for the charge of too many ODIs, the people who complain most about this phenomenon, the players, are the most culpable, for they have always wanted to squeeze in as many games in a career to chase every last buck possible.
September 13, 2009
Future cricket looks shorter
Posted on 09/13/2009 in One-day cricket
The likelihood of the 50-over game being scrapped for good for the sake of Twenty20 and even shorter formats seems inevitable, writes Peter Williams in the New Zealand Herald. With each decade, the attention spans of the viewing public has only decreased, which explains the rapid success of Twenty20.
If the 2007 World Cup was the most tedious international cricket tournament of all time, will the 2011 event have any relevance in an evolving marketplace? Will the 2015 event, scheduled for New Zealand and Australia, even happen?
September 11, 2009
Dhoni's moves and success
Posted on 09/11/2009 in One-day cricket
India's steady rise as a feared and respected ODI team has everything to do with the results they have achieved in the last eighteen months. While captain MS Dhoni may have powered the growth, the team have also matured as a group. Anand Vasu has more in the Hindustan Times.
While there are no lengthy team meetings and strategy sessions analysing the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition -- the computer most used is the one between Dhoni's ears -- there's a strong knowledge of what needs to be done to secure a win in any given game. Sports psychologists call this situational awareness, and it is this heightened ability to assess what needs to be done and then implementing plans that separates the consistent teams from the rest.
In his column in the Indian Express, Harsha Bhogle says he will keep a close eye on the upcoming Champions Trophy to decide if it really is time to write off the one-day game.
Shorn of their context, one-day games are a weaker offering. Put in the right ambience, they could be thrilling. It is a bit like the great violinist being ignored when he plays outside a subway station but being flattered with expensive tickets and applause when he plays in a theatre. Before writing an obituary we need to give the patient a good shot at survival.
September 9, 2009
ODI cricket's declining importance
Posted on 09/09/2009 in One-day cricket
Dileep Premachandran, in his blog in the Guardian, says ODI cricket generally lacks in importance, barring the World Cup, and discusses ways in which the format could be made more relevant.
Very few players will admit it on record, but one-day games outside of the World Cup scarcely get the blood pumping. That's not to say they don't take them seriously. It's just not that important. No one will retire and then lament the absence of a Singer/Natwest/Pepsi Series medal from the trophy cabinet. I'm sure Sunil Gavaskar regrets not being able to win a Test match in Pakistan. I doubt very much, though, if he loses sleep over the tri-series that India lost in Australia in 1985-86.
September 8, 2009
A recipe for chaos
Posted on 09/08/2009 in One-day cricket
Any format that lacks a basic, natural complexity will ultimately collapse as options run out. It is happening to 50-over cricket now and Suresh Menon, writing in Dreamcricket.com, predicts a similar fate for Twenty20 in time.
But artificial solutions will only make the game more confusing. You cannot play the 50-over game as a series of 25-over games and hope the spirit of Twenty20 will revive it. The survival of the sport depends on making the three formats distinct from one another. A Test match aspiring to be a 50-over contest or a Twenty20 aspiring to be a Test match is both confusing and unnecessary.
September 6, 2009
Champions Trophy may increase ODI valuation
Posted on 09/06/2009 in One-day cricket
The one-day game, once cricket’s mainstay, is losing ground alarmingly to Twenty20 in terms of sponsor interest and revenue generation. If comparative valuation figures are any indication, the raging debate over the 50-over format’s future may be entirely justified. Indranil Basu takes a look in the Times of India.
September 5, 2009
An overhaul for the 50-over format
Posted on 09/05/2009 in One-day cricket
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Three's a crowd
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The 50-over game is in serious trouble with the England and South African boards doing away with it in domestic fixtures. And with Cricket Australia having one more year left with its Ford sponsorship of the domestic 50-over competition, Dean Jones believes it's high time that ODIs need to be revamped. Different formats of 40 overs each, changing a six to an 'eight', no overthrows when the fielders hit the stumps along with three on-field umpires, are his proposals in the Age.
One umpire would stand at the bowler's end, one at square leg and the other umpire side-on at the bowler's end watching for no-balls. This would allow the umpire at the bowler's end to concentrate on the speed and line of the delivery and not worry about the bowler's feet. This will give the umpires that spilt second of time they crave for to make better decisions. Umpires would also rotate every innings.
September 3, 2009
Fifty-over game must change
Posted on 09/03/2009 in One-day cricket
In the Daily Telegraph, Derek Pringle writes that the 50-over game desperately requires radical changes. He lists five innovations to spice it up, such as allowing both the fielding side and the batting side to take their Powerplays after the 20th over.
Remove the playing condition that restricts bowlers to having a maximum of five fielders on the leg-side. Packing that side of the wicket can restrict the scoring, but it would open up the off-side field allowing bold batsmen to score boundaries that are such rarities in the middle overs these days.
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