Bland matches will kill one-day game

The future of one-day cricket looks precarious and there could not be a more opportune time for administrators to ensure more competitive matches.

Kevin Pietersen’s switch-hitting does not merit as much attention as one-dayers, which are feeling the brunt of the Twenty 20 onslaught. Test cricket being the purists’ delight and one which might not be compromised on, it is the 50-over format that might struggle hereon.

The advent of T20 means that there is another version which packs much more in much less. In fact, there is the possibility that the number of ODIs will go down in the coming years, as the International Cricket Council (ICC) seems willing to create a window for the Indian Premier League (IPL), also opening the possibility of more similar decisions.

Instead of fighting it out on T20’s turf, which is all about thrill and action, one-dayers need to be placed differently, especially because very few of them actually go to the wire. They have to showcase competition between bat and ball, a combination of technique and innovation, rather than the bland affairs that they are turning out to be in trying to compete with the rampant fours and sixes of T20. For this, not just the ICC but organisers of all one-day matches will need to do their bit.

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