Rescue ODIs by playing them in November
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By johnhunt92, 16 Feb 2010 johnhunt92 is a Roar Pro
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- Cricket, Cricket Australia, One day cricket, Twenty20
South African batsman HM Amla makes runs as Australian bowler James Hopes follows his misfielded ball during the 4th One Day International cricket match between Australia and South Africa at the Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, Monday, Jan. 26, 2009. AAP Image/Dave Hunt
Everyone seems to have an opinion on the state of One Day cricket. With the bastard child Twenty20 ripping the soul out of the game, One Day cricket is struggling to breathe as it loses relevance.
This, of course, overlooks the fact that in India last year, every ODI against Australia was sold out and TV ratings in India were fantastic. So why are One Dayers suffering in the country that kept the concept alive?
It is simple; bad scheduling.
Cricket Australia does not understand that February is the worst time to play cricket. The holidays are done and dusted, kids are back at school, and people are going back to work, forgetting about the summer.
Traditionally, for 25 years, the cricket finished between the 1st-2nd week of February, as the Tri-Series finals wrapped up. This season, cricket finishes on the 23rd of February, when fans are gearing up for League, Union or AFL.
One Day Cricket still has a place in the summer, but Cricket Australia is going about it all wrong.
More cricket needs to be played in November, where there is little sporting competition and punters are gearing up for the summer. Cricket did not begin until November 24th this season, with a Test against the West Indies, leaving nearly a whole month where the biggest threat is a week-long drink fest at Flemington.
Unfortunately, Cricket Australia was servicing the pimp of cricket India in a meaningless series while the country, in sporting terms, was left barren.
Imagine if five ODIs were played in November as a precursor to the Test series. I will say with confidence crowds would have been better than the 8,000 at Adelaide Oval. Twenty20 Cricket can be in February when our attention span for cricket is waning
Next season sees a three match ODI series against Sri Lanka begin in November. It sounds like a one-off, but it shouldn’t be. An ODI series in November will work.
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vinay verma said | February 16th 2010 @ 7:04am | Report comment
johnhunt92,you are off the mark here and your piece is as inconsistent and two-paced as as an underprepared Delhi wicket.
In your second para you laud the ODI’s against India as “fantastic” and towards the end you call them “meaningless”
You call it “poor scheduling” and yet for once CA should be complimented on astuteness. The Australian summer boasting a disunited Windies and a stateless Pakistan was always going to be underwhelming. That good cricket was played in parts was more good luck than good management. The financial windfall from the Indian ODI’s means the losses from two low rating touring teams was offset. This in the longterm helps nourish Australian Cricket at the grassroots.
I find your remark “pimp of cricket India” distasteful and, in any case,inaccurate. Who is actually running after the money here? Nobody forced the Australian Board to play the ODI’s. Cricket Australia were willing and ,in the end rewarded,participants.
I am a traditionalist and am concerned about the proliferation of Twenty20 to the detriment of Test Cricket. But by no means do I think that Twenty20 is irrelevant. In fact I believe,properly managed,Twenty20 is an integral part of the cricketing landscape in the future. We should not be afraid of change. We should not embrace it slavishly but we must consider it.
Cricket in the 21st Century is altogether more athletic,faster and skilfull than 50 years ago..and this includes Test Cricket. Mark Taylor onwards, Aussie teams have consistently set a bench mark of 4 runs per over in Tests and Ponting is committed to taking the game forward at every opportunity.
We have less drawn Tests now. Look at the match currently being played in Kolkata. India is scoring at 5 runs per over. Sehwag reached his ton in less than 100 balls. Twenty20 is reinvigorating the game just like ODI’s did 30 years ago. Balance,context and sporting pitches are the key. yes,scheduling is a part but this has to be balanced with the need to reciprocate tours with lesser drawing countries. Next summer we have England and the following summer India. Both blocbuster series. You have to accept there will be years where the fare is not so appetising..in retrospect the summer just gone showcased some very good cricket.
John said | February 16th 2010 @ 7:59am | Report comment
February is a bad month for international cricket. Everybody who follows cricket is getting ready for the football seasons. People just get sick of the surfeit of cricket.
Jay said | February 16th 2010 @ 8:12am | Report comment
They need to reschedule the entire summer.
Next year we have 7 ODIs against England – not exactly reknowned for the abilities in limited overs crickets.
Start the summer off with the big bash. Have 3 Tests, 3 ODI’s, 3 T20I. In addition lobby the ICC to cut ODIs to 40 overs and there is a simple solution.
vas said | February 16th 2010 @ 8:34am | Report comment
john, you’re contradicting yourself.
how can you label the indian series great on one hand, and then blast ca’s willingness to participate on the other?
again, i think we need to reduce the number of odis per season from 10 down to 6 (3 against each team). each ground will only have one odi, which will get many fans inclined to attend, and it will leave space for some of our players to occasionally play state cricket as well. i think if you can get the likes of ponting, clarke, johnson and white playing for their states, the grassroots support of cricket will improve. that’s something that badly needs attention.
Malibu77 said | February 16th 2010 @ 9:16am | Report comment
The months of November and December should be wall-to-wall cricket in my opinion – both at international and domestic levels. Not only should the ODI’s be played in November but the bulk of the Shield games should be in that period too – there should be games every week with a cup game either before or after. This would leave January for the Big Bash and then maybe 3 games in February followed by Shield and Cup finals in late Feb or the first week of March.
Such a disjointed season as we have now means no momentum and waning interest.
Rabbitz said | February 16th 2010 @ 10:05am | Report comment
This cricket season has been going on now for 18 months with no sign of abating. I think NZ is next.
Does CA really want to know why the ODI’s are lacking in crowds? Simply they have over milked the cash cow. Far too much exposure, in fact over-exposure.
We don’t care anymore. The endless games and pointless continual tours are fast becoming meaningless.
Cricket runs November to February, ignoring the odd tour O/S. That is it. We no longer have the attention, the time, the money or the enthusiasm to watch over-paid prima-donnas, metro-sexuals, has-beens and wannabes strut their stuff in a never-ending parade.
CA isn’t the only mob who are over milking the cow, but they are by far the greediest.
johnhunt92 said | February 16th 2010 @ 10:55am | Report comment
If you read the article i said TV ratings were fantastic not the series. I didnt like the series but in India they did
Go_the_Wannabe's said | February 16th 2010 @ 11:07am | Report comment
Did NSW ever get paid for winning that club championship tournament in India last year?
vas said | February 16th 2010 @ 12:48pm | Report comment
John, the TV ratings indicate it was a great series. People aren’t going to turn up in droves at the ground or switch over to the cricket to witness damp squibs. The matches at Hyderabad and Baroda were thrillers.
Why would people watch the cricket if they weren’t convinced they could get a great match out of it?
Tommix said | February 18th 2010 @ 10:52pm | Report comment
I think it’s a great idea to kick off the season with one-dayers in November, I think it will rejuvenate the format. It can then be followed by real cricket, ie. Test cricket, followed by that Big Bash nonsense that everyone seems to be interested in(including me admittedly)