A well-played 50-over cricket match is enjoyable for
both players and spectators. It provides aggressive cricket for the fans while
giving a team ample time to recover if they make an early error. After playing
a respectable quantity of cricket, the players believe they have earned their
paycheck.
However, by heavily supporting T20, the administrators
have damaged the format. Additionally, players are at fault for allowing this
to occur.
The T20 format draws sizable crowds, including many
game newcomers. T20 franchises also generate income for organisations and teams
that are in dire financial need. There is no denying that it has benefited the
game financially, but T20 frequently receives excessively positive publicity at
the deliberate expense of other formats. T20 has a place, but the elevated
position it holds in the game’s overall structure is out of proportion.
The relevance of the ODI has almost completely been
restricted to a World Cup year.
The first 60 overs of the limited overs World Cup were
played in 1975. West Indies’ outstanding late-night triumph over a spirited
Australia marked the tournament’s conclusion. That was precisely what the
structure required, and it appeared to show that the limited-overs game had
attained widespread acceptance.
The ODI was changed to a 50-over match, but the T20
format ultimately rendered it obsolete. The middle format has mainly been
limited to World Cup popularity as a result of the administrators’ shortsighted
approach to the 50-over playing conditions, their love affair with the
financial benefits of T20, and the players’ complicity.
The idea that the middle overs of a 50-over game were
uninteresting spread like wildfire among many individuals, including the
majority of administrators. The quick growth of the T20 game gained precedence
since there was no motivation to push for increased relevance for 50-over
cricket. Administrators chose gimmicks rather trying to add thoughtful
competition to the 50-over game. The administrators decided to win the game
with a huge stick rather than dangling a carrot to spark the captains’ and
players’ creativity.
That required the implementation of gimmicks like
powerplays, fielding restrictions, and shorter boundaries, the majority of
which largely penalised bowlers and had a tendency to determine the style of
leadership for a team. You are practically told, as the great former Australia
captain Mark Taylor puts it.
It’s telling that the 50-over World Cup still attracts
large crowds. Despite the general lack of positivity when talking about the
format, the 2023 tournament is set to be extremely popular, especially as it
features a mouth-watering India versus Pakistan fixture.