At a time when the ODI game is caught between the time-honoured and flashy formats of cricket, suffering from what psychologists would call the 'middle child syndrome', the International Cricket Council (ICC) is finally doing something about it.
At a time when the ODI game is caught between the time-honoured and flashy formats of cricket, suffering from what psychologists would call the 'middle child syndrome', the International Cricket Council (ICC) is finally doing something about it.
According to a report in The Sydney Morning Herald, a grand plan to revamp the 50-over game will be discussed at a meeting of ICC honchos in Melbourne on Monday. That's a day after India lock horns with South Africa at the MCG.
The force behind this ambitious programme is Cricket Australia chairman Wally Edwards, who also happens to be the head of the ICC's executive committee (ExCo). The former Test opener is keen on bringing all one-day international matches under the World Cup banner in a bid to further distinguish it from the other formats. His plan is to rebrand the ODI game as 'World Cup Cricket'.
Lest we forget, Edwards is a close confidante of ICC chairman sidelined BCCI president N Srinivasan and a key figure in the 'The Big Three' reforms that ceded all powers to India, England and Australia.
"Under the proposal, all one-day internationals could be linked into a points system, governing qualification for the World Cup itself and potentially leading into end-of-year series for large pots of money for the top-two ranked teams in non-World Cup year," the report said.
"I'd like to see a lot more context for 50-over cricket," Edwards was quoted as saying by the newspaper. "I would call it World Cup Cricket. We've got a meeting on Monday in Melbourne with the ICC and one of the subjects is this. From my point of view this is one of the big strategy items, which is also focused on making the world of cricket better."
The details of the proposal are yet to be finalised, but Edwards is of the opinion that there must be a serious rethink about the 50-over format. On the one hand, cricket is a sport that seems opposed to the idea of expansion — the next World Cup, in England, will be a 10-team affair. But the new sport promises to give the less fortunate 'Associates' like Ireland and Afghanistan some importance in the new set-up.
"I would have a system where, maybe after one year, the top two teams play off in a best-of-three (series) or something, which would take a week," said Edwards. "That counts for one year and, if you could work the points out so that even teams like Ireland have a chance, (then) that would be quite interesting. There (would be) a decent prize at the end of it, a decent lump of money.
"In the second year (after a World Cup in the current cycle) you've got the (ICC) Champions Trophy, which I would like to call the World Cup qualifying tournament. In the third year, you'd be finishing off the rankings for the World Cup. And then, in the last year, you've got the World Cup. Something like that where each year, there is some pinnacle at the end that everyone is playing to achieve, and then the World Cup is the big one. It will make a lot more sense to people I think."
Edwards's term as CA chairman ends in October.
Srinivasan neither confirmed nor denied the development. "I don't know what report you are talking about. I have to read it before I can make a comment," he told dna. But when asked if he would be in Melbourne for the weekend to watch India take on the Proteas, he said, "I have a lot of work here (India). But I want to attend some of India's games. I will come there (Australia/New Zealand) later (in the tournament)." For the record, Srinivasan will present the World Cup to the champions on March 29, also at the MCG.
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