ODIs not Tests under threat from Twenty20: MCC

[srh]

MELBOURNE: With the advent of Twenty20, serious doubts have already been raised over the existence of Test cricket, but the custodians of cricket laws, MCC feels it is infact the 50-over game which is in danger of losing its identity and not the five-day format.

The Marylebone Cricket Club said Test cricket has enough takers to coexist with Twenty20 but feels some innovations are indeed required to keep the spectators interested in the format.

"As a purist, I think (Test cricket) is the pinnacle, and for the players it is the pinnacle, so it's important that we preserve it, and the fact is numbers and interest have been reducing. While I don't think for one minute that Test cricket is in danger of dying, I think we need to look ahead and look at innovative ideas," MCC secretary and chief executive Keith Bradshaw said.

"There are enough seats at the table for Test cricket to coexist with Twenty20. I think it is the One-day format that is in danger, and if something is not done to revamp the 50-over game, we could see that either become less attractive or perhaps even die as Twenty20 takes over," he added.

In its bid to make the five-day game more attractive, the MCC has some innovative ideas up its sleeve, including organising neutral matches and hosting day-night Tests.

"At the MCC, we are purists and traditionalists, and we're doing whatever we can to promote Test cricket. We're looking to stage neutral Test matches, we're looking at the concept of day-night Test cricket," Bradshaw was quoted as saying in the 'Herald Sun'.

The MCC had planned to host England and Bangladesh under lights next year at Lords, but the controversial experiment will probably be delayed as the hunt for an appropriate ball continues, the report said.

"The reality is we probably won't go to a day-night Test next year, only because we won't have had time to finish the research on the ball and we won't have had time to do the trial with a county match this year," Bradshaw said.

"The reality is we probably won't go to a day-night Test next year, only because we won't have had time to finish the research on the ball and we won't have had time to do the trial with a county match this year," Bradshaw said.

[Free Hit]

well thats true and better as well, just replace odis with t20 and with test as other format

[srh]

Someone from Test and ODI will eventually die because of T20. Test is really very different and so if I have to choose I will say to terminate ODIs. But it may be Test which will die.

[insaftak]

get rid of boring ODIs

[cricketpassion]

Test cricket is boring, especially when you are playing in sub continent .the pitches quality is very poor.and now even in other countries like england (where seaming tracks were famous) australia ( where bouncy tracky were famous) we dont find their traditional pitches .thats the big cause of loss of interest in test cricket.

I believe test cricket is real cricket and its a real test for the players but icc has to do something to save it.otherwise i think its test cricket which is gonna die .

[TaZ]

My idea is to leave tests alone. Why not make ODIs into 40 over cricket or a mini "test match" of 2 innings of 2020?

[cricketpassion]

Originally Posted by TaZ My idea is to leave tests alone. Why not make ODIs into 40 over cricket or a mini "test match" of 2 innings of 2020?

good idea

[offcutter]

4 day tests, livelier tracks, day and night, pink ball, bring it

[Mercenary]

For their next trick they will tell us that apples are a fruit!!

[hasanb]

Originally Posted by Mercenary For their next trick they will tell us that apples are a fruit!!

They are actually spot on though, it already seems that tests might be shortened to 4 days...ODIs just have no relevance anymore. They are not the shortest form anymore, they dont drag in crowds anymore so much so therefore what exactly is their relevance?

[Mercenary]

Originally Posted by hasanb They are actually spot on though, it already seems that tests might be shortened to 4 days...ODIs just have no relevance anymore. They are not the shortest form anymore, they dont drag in crowds anymore so much so therefore what exactly is their relevance?

We all knew ODIs would suffer because of T20 cricket.

ODIs are usually dead between the 10th and the 35th over where everyone wanders about aimlessly. That's over half the game!

[AZ]

but you must have ODIs, to have a proper World Cup...they just need to be managed better that's all

[hasanb]

Originally Posted by AhmedZulfiqar but you must have ODIs, to have a proper World Cup...they just need to be managed better that's all

How can you say ODIs are the 'proper' world cup though? Just compare the attendances at the last two T20 world cups with those of the ODI one...its a telling story. Even if the ICC hadnt made the mistakes it did in the west indies...theres no way an ODI world cup can compete with T20 even now and that situation will be exacerbated as time goes on.

The solution is to have a main T20 world cup say every 3 or 4 years, while you have world test championship over a 4 or 5 year period. This way both longer and shorter forms of the game will have proper world competition.

[AZ]

well 'cos T20 still has a long way to go before it can become an acceptable benchmark to measure the greatness/quality of a team...the ODI WC now has a history and a meaning which took a long time to build, and it can't be discarded just like that

as for comparing the 2007 WC to the T20 events, the ICC and the WI Organising Committee is at blame for that

[offcutter]

How about two innings of 20 overs for ODIs - would make for very exciting cricket as you have all 10 wickets each inning and can really go for your shots and take risks, and the bowlers can concentrate on variations.

First inning leads shouldn't be too much, between 5-20 runs on average just like T20 victory margins, which makes for an exciting second inning.

[hasanb]

Originally Posted by AhmedZulfiqar well 'cos T20 still has a long way to go before it can become an acceptable benchmark to measure the greatness/quality of a team...the ODI WC now has a history and a meaning which took a long time to build, and it can't be discarded just like that as for comparing the 2007 WC to the T20 events, the ICC and the WI Organising Committee is at blame for that

Yeah I understand your point and you're right about that, however the drop in interest for ODIs has been too steep to ignore. Although T20 is not up there yet to benchmark a teams greatness...ODIs fall has been so dramatic that it cannot be used as a benchmark either.

[hasanb]

Originally Posted by offcutter How about two innings of 20 overs for ODIs - would make for very exciting cricket as you have all 10 wickets each inning and can really go for your shots and take risks, and the bowlers can concentrate on variations. First inning leads shouldn't be too much, between 5-20 runs on average just like T20 victory margins, which makes for an exciting second inning.

yeah i suggested this in another thread actually...it would make ODIs a lot more exciting, it would keep interest going throughout the 7 - 8 hours it takes.

The ICC however would never approve something so drastic....not this easily anyway.

[AZ]

Originally Posted by hasanb Yeah I understand your point and you're right about that, however the drop in interest for ODIs has been too steep to ignore. Although T20 is not up there yet to benchmark a teams greatness...ODIs fall has been so dramatic that it cannot be used as a benchmark either.

personally, I haven't seen any drop in interest in ODIs...they still have healty attendances all over the world...Pakistan is an exception because of the poor marketing strategies of the PCB

[Couch Cricketer]

I think we will see a revival of Test cricket if some of them are held on neutral grounds more or atleast take over the pitch preparation
from the home boards as many boards try to make pitches that will get them 5 days of cricket instead of really good Test cricket even if it last for 3 days only

I would like to see how Pak vs Ind on Aus, SA, Eng, NZ pitches
or Pak vs Aus in NZ, SA
Eng vs Aus in India or SL

[waqar_ahmad]

Originally Posted by hasanb How can you say ODIs are the 'proper' world cup though? Just compare the attendances at the last two T20 world cups with those of the ODI one...its a telling story. Even if the ICC hadnt made the mistakes it did in the west indies...theres no way an ODI world cup can compete with T20 even now and that situation will be exacerbated as time goes on. The solution is to have a main T20 world cup say every 3 or 4 years, while you have world test championship over a 4 or 5 year period. This way both longer and shorter forms of the game will have proper world competition.

To me, attendance does not matter. T20 is not a way to judge a player. I know so many people, specially girls, who watch T20, and know nothing about cricket whatsoever.

Just coz something is more exciting, doesnt mean it is better.

I think dead pitches have killed ODIs more than anything. Get better pitches, and ODIs will improve

[AZ]

Originally Posted by waqar_ahmad To me, attendance does not matter. T20 is not a way to judge a player. I know so many people, specially girls, who watch T20, and know nothing about cricket whatsoever. Just coz something is more exciting, doesnt mean it is better. I think dead pitches have killed ODIs more than anything. Get better pitches, and ODIs will improve

totally agree...I think Ranatunga said it very well when he said that if T20 was the benchmark then Yuvraj (I think) and Yusuf Pathan would be the best Indian players...

as for the pitches issue...there should be a central ICC Committee that monitors them, and even prepare them

[Couch Cricketer]

Originally Posted by AhmedZulfiqar totally agree...I think Ranatunga said it very well when he said that if T20 was the benchmark then Yuvraj (I think) and Yusuf Pathan would be the best Indian players... as for the pitches issue...there should be a central ICC Committee that monitors them, and even prepare them

atleast they have now decided to fine boards that prepare dull pitches for test cricket.
With PAk no longer playing at home in the near future PCB does not need to worry about or I think they will have had to pay back all they earn with the kind of pitches we produce

[Savak]

T-20 has its own importance
ODI's have their own importance
Test matches have their own importance

Just fairly allocate all the matches of these 3 different formats and for god sakes improve the quality of test pitches.

[waqar_ahmad]

Originally Posted by AhmedZulfiqar totally agree...I think Ranatunga said it very well when he said that if T20 was the benchmark then Yuvraj (I think) and Yusuf Pathan would be the best Indian players... as for the pitches issue...there should be a central ICC Committee that monitors them, and even prepare them

Exactly.

One thing people forget is that the T20 WC was such a big success coz of really good pitches. They were actually supporting the bowlers who knew how ti use them.

Now, if we can have such pitches in ODIs, they will improve in terms of excitement, and I mean cricketing excitement, not for people who like to watch batters slog all the time.

[hasanb]

Originally Posted by waqar_ahmad To me, attendance does not matter. T20 is not a way to judge a player. I know so many people, specially girls, who watch T20, and know nothing about cricket whatsoever. Just coz something is more exciting, doesnt mean it is better. I think dead pitches have killed ODIs more than anything. Get better pitches, and ODIs will improve

If you actually read my post you would see that I said T20 is not a benchmark, it may gain in popularity so much at some later stage in the future that it will carve out its own place.

My argument is that test match cricket is the only real benchmark there can be for a team, whilst T20 has taken over as the premier shorter format of the game. So ODIs are left in the middle...neither here nor there.

Secondly having an audience of girls or people who knew nothing about cricket before will only extend the appeal of cricket, while test matches will and should always remain the premier form of the game, T20 is the only vehicle we have to even hope of competing with sports like football in the wider market.

[Waseem]

My idea

Leave test cricket as it is and don't even think about reducing the number of days to 4.

Keep playing ODI's but 3 ODIs are always enough (or 5 at MOST), there is no way any team should be playing a series of 7 ODI's. Almost all the 7 ODI series involve Indians (obviously to make more money). ODI's should still be played but we must get rid of useless CHAMPIONS TROPHY.

There should be a T20 WC every 2 years and we can add 1 or 2 T20's after every series otherwise there should be no T20s played at all.

[abc_to_xyz]

Yes.. Thats what I was saying for a very long time..


Btw, ODIs must survive... B'cuz it is the only proper version of the limited overs game! T20 is nothing but a fun-game!

[offcutter]

Guys, T20 is not a joke. The sport will survive based on what is popular and puts money in the bank. T20 is as much a test of skills as ODI or Test, just a different set of skills - how fast you can score against yorkers and bouncers, how well you can bowl against a guy trying to score off you from every ball. Tests are about your survival skill as a batsman and your wicket taking ability as a bowler against a batsman just trying to preserve his wicket, and ODIs are somewhere in between the two formats - stuck in the middle and bloated.

Honestly, the concept of survival being the purpose of a game is just not appealing to many people. Cricket can evolve and grow as a sport if T20 is supported, because people who can't watch a game for 7 hours a day for 5 days will take interest, especially since T20s are so tense and results are almost always close - within 2 overs or 20 runs.

If they fill up the calendar with more boring ODIs, it's really going to disappoint when you have a killer format like T20 barely being touched. No need for a sudden change, just gradually increase the amount of T20s being played. Instead of these one off T20 games that come with every 5 ODI series, have 3 T20s, 3 ODIs and 3 Tests. Then people will really be able to compare which among the 3 formats they found most exciting and enjoyable to watch, and the TV ratings and tickets sold will show the cricketing boards and the ICC the way forward.

[Amjid Javed]

ODIs do seem to be dying a death with an introduction of T20, ICC need to find a way to jazz up ODIs or just kill them off.

[TaZ]

As I said above, you have to make ODIs into 40 overs not 50 (remember ODIs started off as 60 over games). Or more radically two 20 over innings to create a "mini test match"