How cricket's lawmakers can save ODIs from extinction

Cricket's wonderful one-day international format is now in peril. Its popularity started to decline from the 2007 World Cup which proved to be a great damp squib.

The tournaments preceding it proved to be one-sided as the toss decided the winner. To add insult to injury, the sudden success of the 2007 Twenty20 World Cup brought the fate of ODIs into scrutiny.

Now, most cricketers and commentators openly state that they want the ICC to scrap the ODI format. So, should Twenty20 replace ODI matches permanently? Will we lose those wonderful 50-over contests for ever?

Before we answer this question, let us find the reasons for the decline of popularity of the ODI format.

The reasons for the splurge in popularity:
1) As they always say, “Too much of anything is good for nothing”. The same held true for one-day internationals. Prior to 1996, the highest number of ODIs played by a team was 36 per year - and the average less than twice the number being played today. Teams such as Pakistan and India played 20-25 ODIs per year in the early '90s - and more than 36 during the mid 2000s. The quality of ODIs went down drastically as it increased.

2) Wear and tear: With the huge amount of cricket played in recent years, many old and upcoming players succumbed regularly to injuries. Thus, many matches turned out to be one-sided affairs due to absence of key players. The presence of key players in a team is vital for the interest of the audience. People would much rather see a New Zealand match where a Shane Bond terrifies the lives of opposition batsmen than a match where New Zealand bowlers get thrashed around.

3) The lack of sportive pitches: Fans invest a hell a lot of money and time to watch an ODI match. When they realise that a side batting first is going to lose the match because the pitch is a batting paradise and even a total of 350 is chaseable, they straightaway get disappointed. An ODI match played on a batting paradise is going to be as interesting as a pot-boiler.

4) Retirements of many great bowlers: In the golden period of ODIs, we saw many matches being decided only after the 47th over of the second innings. We also saw many sides defending modest totals of 150-160.

There were many nail-biting matches in the 1996 World Cup, nothing more exciting than the semi-final between West Indies and Australia, where a brave Shivnarine Chanderpaul batted brilliantly only to see Shane Warne and other Aussies bowlers induce a spectacular collapse paving the way for a five-run victory.

Then there was the 1999 Australia v South Africa semi-final, where Warne wrecked the top order until Lance Klusener threatened to finish off Australia only to be denied by a historic run-out. How many matches have the reverse-swinging duo of Wasim Akram/Waqar Younis won for Pakistan?

ODIs flourished thanks to presence of greats such as Donald, De Villiers, Ambrose, Walsh, Bishop, Warne, Cairns, Murali, McGrath, Srinath and others. Even a weak team such as Zimbabwe had strong bowlers such as Eddo Brandes and Heath Streak. Today, there is a severe dearth of good bowlers.

So, what steps should the ICC take to revive ODIs?

1) Restrict the maximum number of ODIs played by a side to 30-35 per year.

2) Create a global pitch report committee which ensures that only sportive tracks are prepared.

3) Bring in new rules that evoke interest.
* Allow bowlers to bowl two bouncers per over
* Allow dual run-outs (enabling fielders to run out batsmen at both ends if they are out of their creases),
* Award eight runs to the batsmen if he hits the ball out of the stadium
* Allow LBW appeals to be forwarded to the third umpire
* Allow substitute players to bat/bowl if required.

Follow a three-ball-miss rule: If a batsman plays and misses three consecutive deliveries, then he must face the fourth ball exposing two of his stumps.

4) Do away with the Duckworth-Lewis method which makes rain-interrupted matches a lottery (remember the England-South Africa semi-final in the 1992 World Cup?).

As great cricketers say, T20 is like the burger - having lots of burgers ruins your appetite and is hazardous to health. It is up to the ICC and fans to decide whether to kill or retain ODIs.

This article was published in www.sportingo.com.

Why T20 can never kill Test Cricket?

Twenty Twenty or T20 as we call it is the latest form of cricket that has captured the imagination of fans across the world. Thanks to the IPL and the T20 world cup, the whole world of cricket had changed, fans and administrators have started chanting T20 as if it is a new mantra, newspapers and channels have praised T20 as if it is the new Messiah of cricket. The rise of T20 has come with a cost, the decline of Test Cricket, the greatest form of the game.

Writing premature obituaries: It is sad to see even past and present cricketers writing off test cricket. Even the most devoted fans of Test cricket have given up. Administrators mention that Test cricket:
Is a long game, 5 days of meaningless cricket, doesn’t assure a result
Does not attract much crowds (As if IPL did, many people know that the stadiums were half-empty)
Has a low entertainment quota compared to T20

Well, being an avid fan of cricket, I can easily say that Test cricket is never going to die, at least not now. People need to understand that a format that has withstood 120 years, survived many administration problems, and yet proved to be timeless, is not going to die just like that. Comparing T20 and test cricket is like comparing a BURGER with a fully balanced meal. Burgers may seem delicious, but will spoil your appetite when overeaten.

Let us analyze the reasons for the so-called demise of tests:
They say that no crowds come to watch tests. Why? Because nowadays, the world has become so hectic that people prefer to catch up with test cricket via internet or TV. This is very obvious.
90% of revenue from Cricket comes only via the Internet and Television, not from Full Stadiums. So, the administrators need to find innovative ways to bring in revenues.

T20 is a new phenomenon, hardly a few years old. People are always curious about new things; they run after T20 because it offers them “unlimited entertainment”, meaning lots of fours and sixes within 40 overs.
But for how long?
After a certain period of time, people will be used to T20 and then they will loathe it for the same reason they started loving it.

Administrators say that test cricket doesn’t produce results, only boring draws. Well, it doesn’t help when the brainless ICC prepares flat placid tracks for test matches around the world. Let them prepare sporting pitches and we’ll see how Test Cricket fares.
You cannot ask bowlers to bowl out teams by giving them tracks as dead as dodos.
As Michael Slater once put it sweetly, “You can even find life in Mars, but not in this pitch”.

As they say, ‘Change is the only permanent thing.” Like every sport, Cricket also undergoes changes. The administrators of the game should be responsible enough to ensure that Test cricket does not lose popularity. They should changed it according to modern trends. The ICC can try out conducting test series on a points-basis manner.
For example:
If a Test match is drawn, the winner is decided by the points gained by each team:
Team which gained first innings lead: 1 point
Team which scored maximum runs with minimum wickets: 1 point
If a team is closing victory (Say target is either within reach or the batting team has lost more than 7 wickets): 1 point
Team that scored runs at a faster run rate: 1 point

The ICC should try some innovations in test cricket by consulting with some cricket experts, without spoiling the sanctity of the game.
And for once, the ICC should try not to be greedy and prepare even pitches that provide assistance to both batsmen and bowlers alike.
Test cricket has its own devoted group of fans, the ICC should try not to disappoint these fans. After all, test cricket is the mother of all forms of cricket. It deserves better respect.

T20 is exciting, but it has limited number of overs, depends too much on luck, and provides very little chance of error. Test cricket on the other side, is grueling, tests your patience and character, improves your game and gives you a sense of satisfaction.

Test cricket has provided fans with many memorable incidents, a few of them are given below:
The immortal contest between Michael Atherton and Allan Donald at Trent Bridge in 1993.

Sachin playing one of his greatest innings, a back-breaking 136 against Pakistan at MAC stadium, Chennai, in 1999.

Shane Warne bowling Mike Gatting with a delivery termed as the ball of the century in 1992 Ashes.

Lara scoring 152 not out against an Aussie attack comprising of Mcgrath, Gillespie, and Warne, and leading West Indies to an improbable victory.

Anil Kumble taking 10 wickets against Pakistan at Feroshah Kotla, Delhi in 1999.

West Indies chasing an improbable target of 418 against Aussies and winning by 8 wickets.

Nathan Astle hammering 222 off just 155 deliveries against England.

Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis bowling dozens of batsmen with their reverse swinging Yorkers and toe crushers.

1980's Ashes series, when Ian Botham almost single-handedly won the Ashes for England

Brian Lara scoring 375, and 400 not out(ten years later) against England at St. Johns, Antigua.

Can Twenty-Twenty cricket provide us such moments. Of course not!

Let us praise Twenty-Twenty, but never neglect Test Cricket. Hope sense prevails.

Why One Day Internationals Suddenly Seem Obsolete?

It’s the season of Twenty-Twenty or 20/20 cricket as we call it. First, we see the ICC allotting a slot (unofficially) for IPL and then they arrange for a T20 World Cup just after a gap of 2 years after the first edition in 2007. Cricketers, past and present, are writing their obituaries to the One Day Internationals (Games consisting of 50 overs per innings). Has T20 cricket killed One Day Internationals (ODIs) or is it just a temporary phase, a honeymoon, where T20s dominate for a while. Well, only time will tell. But, first, let us analyze why the ODIs have lost their importance over their years.

Pitches inclined in the favour of batsmen: If we analyze the history of ODIs, we will see that they were most popular during the period 1987-1999. Prior to 1995, totals of 300s were considered Himalayan. If a team posted a score of 250+, then the match was inclined to be in their favour, totals of 280 were sometimes deemed unchaseable. It was due to the presence of pitches that were either bowler-friendly or sportive. Batsmen had to earn their runs. But today, Batsmen have their say, rules and pitches are in their favor. Bigger and stronger bats with shorter boundaries help their cause in scoring pretty easy runs while the bowler is reduced to the role of a mute spectator. Today, even 300 is considered an easy target, 280 is below par and 220-250s are considered very easily chaseable. But in the golden 80’s and 90’s, even a target of 180 to 220 was defendable. The best examples being the 1996 Titan Cup where India easily defended a target of 223 against South Africa.

The presence of the truly great bowlers: In today’s cricketing world, if we desire to list out some great bowlers, the only names that come to mind are the Brett Lee, Shane Bond, Muralitharan, Mendis, Malinga and a few other names. The rest are either inconsistent and don’t shine in all kinds of pitches. But when you look at the 1990s, we had bowlers who dominated batsmen even in the most docile pitches: Wasim Akram and Waqar; Musthaq Ahmed and Saqlain; Murali; Donald, Fanie De Villers, and Pollock; Glenn Mcgrath and Gillespie; Srinath and Kumble; Eddo Brandes; Ambrose, Bishop, and Walsh.
Most of these bowlers have won matches when their sides were glaring at defeat. Ambrose and Walsh have triggered many collapses only to see their batting unit fail. Donald and Fanie de villiers have won many ODIs for their team. Murali and Jayasuriya spun India to defeat in the 1996 World Cup Semi-Finals. Saqlain and Mushtaq Ahmed have spun Pakistan to innumerable victories. Let’s not forget the frightening Waqar and the ever-reliable Wasim Akram, who demolished sides with their reverse-swinging Yorkers. No wonder the batsmen of today score easy runs. Even today’s greats like Hayden and Ponting never scored much against an ageing Wasim Akram. It speaks of the quality of bowling in the late 90s. Today’s bowlers are just able to contain the batsmen.

Great batsmen are identified by the quality of bowlers they play. Sachin and Lara were great because they played their audacious and stylish strokes even against the world’s greatest bowlers. Who can forget Lara’s 169 against Pakistan at Sharjah, or Sachin’s twin 100’s (142 and 134) against Australia in 1998. We also saw Jayasuriya plundering bowlers. His 48 ball hundred against Pakistan still stands as one of the most destructive innings ever seen. We saw Ajay Jadeja hammer Waqar Younis for 42 runs in 2 overs during the Quarter Finals of the 1996 World Cup. We saw Lance Klusuner murdering the Australian bowlers only to see Donald getting run-out at the penultimate ball.
1) The last and most important reason is that there are too much of one dayers played these days. A healthy cricket calendar should offer only limited and quality ODIs to the viewers. Today’s cricket calendars are crunched with innumerable, meaningless, ODIs, where sides play more for the sake of numbers. Batsmen and Bowlers get tired easily and as a result, players curtail their careers due to injuries.

If the ICC does not take measures to prepare sportive tracks and reduce the number of ODIs per year, we can say bye bye to ODIs. Hope sense prevails.

How India can defeat England?

Today, June 14th, 2009, India will play a crucial, must-win match against England. India must win this match and the next one against South Africa in order to qualify for the semis. England also need to win this match in order to increase their chances of a berth in the semis. Considering this, this match is of astronomical importance for both teams.

If England Bat First: England have had many problems with their batting order. Their key batsman Kevin Pietersen is injured, while the other batsmen such as Ravi Bopara, Owais Shah, and Collingwood are yet to post big scores against key opponents. Their bowling has been just a shade better than average. If India can get the wickets of Owais Shah, Ravi Bopara, and Pietersen early, then they have a strong chance of pulling off a big win. Indian bowlers have to bowl their hearts out against the Englishmen. The spinners will play a key role. Dhoni needs to use Harbhajan, Ojha, along with part-timers like Yuvraj and Raina effectively.
India must restrict England to a total of 140-150 runs at any cost. India should then try to reach the target within 17-18 overs in order to boost their Net Run Rate.

If India Bat First: India have a fine batting unit. It is upto Dhoni to utilize his batsmen properly. India need to score well during the powerplay. Gambhir should play the role of a sheet anchor and rotate the strike. Rohit, Yusuf, Yuvraj, and Raina need to score the runs for India. They have no other option but to score atleast 9+ runs an over as 170 is the par score in England. Dhoni has to drop himself down at no 6 or 7 and play his natural attacking game. Even if India loose early wickets, they have to keep attacking. Remember, no side has won a game by playing defensively and posting scores of 140-150. India need at least a total of 170-180 to win. It’s a literal Do-or-Die for Indian batsmen. They need to fire on all cylinders against England.

Indian bowlers need to get their line and length right. They need to go for wickets and not just containment. If India need to win convincingly, they need to get the wickets of Ravi Bopara, Owais Shah, Luke Wright, and Kevin Pietersen early. The spinners will play a key-role. The onus would be on Harbhajan and Ojha to deliver. The seamers Zaheer and Ishant need to get early wickets.

Dhoni and India must stop worrying and start planning

In the 2009 T20 Cricket World Cup, the defending champions India have put themselves in a spot of bother. They now need to win both their remaining matches in the Super Eights round against England and South Africa in order to keep their hopes alive. They could have easily averted this Do-or-Die situation if they had just PLANNED properly. Their captain, Dhoni, now-a-days seems to have an identity crisis. First, he gets the batting order horribly wrong, and then sends himself higher up the order, plays 23 balls and scores just 11 runs. Maybe he never realized that in the World of Twenty Twenty Cricket, even a strike-rate of 100-110 is just considered as average. Pardon me for saying this DHONI, T20 does not allow the slow pokes to survive. It’s time Dhoni switches back to his old style of hitting and stop pretending to play the sheet anchor role. In England, the par score is 170, so if India do bat first, they should have scored atleast 170-185 against WI, they failed to do and they lost. What Dhoni needs to do now is to learn from his past mistakes and mend them.

What Dhoni needs to do?
In order to win the remaining matches and then win the World cup, Dhoni has to first plan. You cannot enter a T20 match without a strategy. By seeing India’s recent performances, I can clearly say that India have never planned a clear strategy. Dhoni should stop relying heavily on his INSTINCTS and LUCK. India have a powerful batting order. All Dhoni needs to do is to allow the in-form batsmen such as Rohit, Raina, and Yusuf to have a go at the bowlers. Gambhir should be asked to play the Sheet anchor role and score at atleast a run-a-ball. Dhoni should drop himself to no 5 or 6. If India do lose early wickets, it makes no sense to play defensively. The logic is simple. You either go slam bang and make 160-170 allout rather than end up at 145-150. If India desire to win, their best batsmen need to face the majority of the overs, not an out of form DHONI.

The next thing Dhoni needs to address is the pathetic performance of his bowlers during the slog overs. It’s a pity that even inspite of having World Class Bowlers, we still manage to leak atleast 10-12 runs per over in the slog overs. India must tighten their bowling or just pack their bags and prepare to leave. The seniors Harbhajan and Zaheer need to take up the responsibility of taking crucial wickets and containing the opponents.

India must have a strategy for every individual opponent. They must ensure that they adapt themselves to counter the opponent’s strengths and exploit their weaknesses perfectly. For instance, England and South Africa are not very good players of spin bowling. So in this case, India should use their full time and part time spinners effectively and try to contain their opponents to a score of 150-160. While batting against their opponents, Indians must try to prevent the main bowlers in the opposition from taking wickets. If India can plan an effective strategy and execute it, then we are sure to be T20 World Cup champions again. As of now, let us keep our fingers crossed and pray that Dhoni and his team play sensible cricket and win.

T20 World Cup: A Look at the Contenders for the TITLE

It’s been 5 days since the T20 World Cup started and we have already seen a few upsets. Netherlands beat England a few days before. West Indies thrashed Australia and then Sri Lanka sent the Aussies out of the tournament by beating them very convincingly. Pakistan barely managed to scratch into the super eights thanks to their 81 run over Netherlands today. As of now, I see five major teams vying for the trophy. Let’s have a look at each of the prospective winners.


South Africa: They have been the chokers for long. For many tournaments, the South Africans have blasted their ways to the finals only to falter when it mattered the most. Their strength lies in their dangerous batting order, which boasts of names such as Gibbs, AB De Villiers, Albie Morkel, and Smith. Jacque Kallis and Duminy can play the role of an accumulator very well. Their bowling also seems to be potent with Dale Steyn, Ntini, and Morkel. Their major weakness is their tendency to falter in most important matches.

New Zealand: I bet my money on the Kiwis to win the 2009 T20 World cup. This team consists of quality hitters like Brendon Mccullum, Ross Taylor, Oram, and Jesse Ryder. Their slow bowlers, especially Oram and Styris, are going to be difficult to score off. Considering their ability to notch up big totals, I consider them favorites to win the T20 World cup. However, their bowlers are shown to be vulnerable to quality batsman. Moreover, if they use Mccullum or Ross Taylor early, they easily lose hopes of scoring/chasing a big total.

Sri Lanka: They are strong contenders for the title. They possess quality batsman such as Sanath Jayasuriya, Dilshan, Jayawardane, and Sangakkara and a lethal bowling attack in the form of Malinga, Mendis, and Murali. Considering the slow nature of England pitches, they are gonna be a handful to handle. However, the batting form of Jayasuriya seems to be a big worry. If the opponents do manage to hit Mendis or Murali, then Sri Lanka are going to find it hard to win matches.


India: The so-called favorites to win the World cup. Their chances have already taken a big blow due to Sehwag’s withdrawal due to injury. But they still posses some big hitters such as Gambhir, Rohit, Dhoni, Raina, Yuvraj, Yusuf, and Irfan. Their biggest drawback is that their batting order sometimes tends to collapse like a pack of cards. If India desire to win the World Cup, they need to click consistently as a unit. Dhoni needs to improve his captaincy. Of late, he has been relying more on his instincts rather than on his resources. If India needs to lift the cup, they need to thoroughly analyze their opponents and play accordingly. But due to their tendency to be inconsistent, I would not consider them to be hot favorites. Yuvraj and Raina need to prove their batting prowess in sporting pitches against the likes of Mendis and Murali.

West Indies: They have been the most mercurial team of all time. They have a potent batting order which has the firepower to blast any bowling attack. But unfortunately, the batting unit seldom clicks. They have always been guilty of throwing away a good start and end up losing matches which could have been won easily. Their greatest strength is their batting courtesy Gayle, Adrian, Bravo, Dwayne Smith, Chanderpaul, and Sarwan. Their biggest weakness is their inability to click as a team.


Pakistan: They have just scratched their way into the super eights. But they cannot be written off because Pakistan have always had the ability to bounce back from a pathetic start and win tournaments. The best example being the World cup victory in 1992. But in order to do that, they need to improve upon their batting and fielding. Their major problem has been a laid-back attitude which makes them lose matches miserably. Their biggest strength lies in their bowling courtesy Umar Gul, Afridi, and Ajmal. Their laidback attitude and lack of match practice may cost them dear.


England: They have a very slim chance to lift the World Cup. England, as we all know, have always been relying heavily upon 2-3 batsmen or bowlers to deliver the odds. This factor has always proved detrimental to the team. Moreover, Pietersen is carrying an injury and Flintoff is unlikely to play much of the games. Considering this factors, it would be a miracle even if they manage to make the semis. But as they say, Cricket is an unpredictable game, so never say NEVER.