In what direction is ODI cricket heading?

After watching the One Day International between Australia and the West Indies, one must question whether ODI cricket has seen its heyday. The game itself was a high quality affair, in which George Bailey made a stellar maiden century, Australia young gun Mitch Starc produced a devastating spell of fast bowling which yielded five wickets, and a resurrected West Indies line-up showed glimpses of the calypso kings of the 80’s with some big slogging and super sharp fielding. Yet barely 11,000 fans could be bothered to spend a fine Sunday afternoon watching a good exhibition of 50 over cricket.

ODI crowds have been dwindling at the MCG since the one-dayer between Australia and England in 2007 that attracted a crowd of 78,000. Since that fixture six years ago the MCG has only once seen more than 50,000 spectators attend a 50 over game. Cricket officials have blamed the deteriorating crowds as side effects to the excellent television coverage of Network Nine and the rise of twenty20 cricket.

Cricket fans claim they can’t bare the slow, tedious middle overs of ODI cricket when boundaries and wicket become few and far between. Cricket officials have tinkered with the game to make this period more enthralling for the fans however the middle overs generally still represent a plateau in the game.

Many just believe that three formats is simply too much cricket. So if there is only room for two international formats, the question asked is what form of the game is squeezed out. Test cricket being the pinnacle of the game will never be sent to exile while Twenty20 cricket has proven to be a cash cow on the world sporting arena.

All the doom and gloom surrounding ODI cricket would suggest to the naked eye that the game is fatalistic. And perhaps it is. But there are reasons to suggest that the format does have a future.

One advantage 50 over cricket possesses over Test cricket and to a degree 20 over cricket is that recent results suggest one-day cricket is far more even than the other formats. After being annihilated by South Africa in the Test and Twenty20 arena, New Zealand recently completed a 2-1 upset victory over a Proteas side ranked one in the world. Sri Lanka who were similarly dominated by Australia in the test arena, forced Australia to scramble for a 2-2 draw in the One Day theatre.

In the two most recent world cups, cricket minnow Ireland has beaten test match giants to reach the second stage of the ultimate tournament. Bangladesh, a traditional test match battler, has also flourished in 50 over cricket having beaten higher ranked opponents in the last two world cups.

Network Nine is set to announce a hefty TV rights deal next year for the rights to host ODI cricket in Australia for the next few years. Why? Despite the dwindling crowds, One-Dayers in Australia are still reeling in solid ratings. Besides the TV ratings, there is also commercial interest in the game because there so many ad breaks. And with the next world cup being staged in Australia, there is even more commercial interest surrounding ODI cricket.

The current state of ODI cricket is one of uncertainty yet hope. Whilst there are areas of the game that clearly need tinkering, there are still plenty of reasons to suggest the format has a future in the fine game that is cricket. The success of the World Cup in Australia will prove a massive indicator to the direction of the game. Poor crowds, boring games and poor TV ratings at cricket’s biggest showpiece could spell the end of One Day cricket.