The Australian campaign for the 2019 ODI World Cup is done and dusted, though the arguments about methods of play, selections and such will no doubt continue for some time – at least until the Ashes starts anyway.
It’s important though, that this form of cricket doesn’t fall by the wayside, which it almost did over the past four years.
Cast your minds back to the period after Australia won the Cup in 2015. Members from that squad made up the bulk of teams that took all before them until the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017.
The world champions were expected to lift that trophy as well, but a combination of weather and some ordinary displays meant the Aussies came home empty-handed.
That series seemed to signal a complete change in the intent of Cricket Australia and this was reflected in the team results. Any number of players and combinations were tried, other players were rested, but all that occurred were more and more losses.
Many of the series, especially with all those games against the Indians and that series last year in the UK, were perhaps viewed as a necessary obligation, but not something to take too seriously.
That attitude spilled over to the State ODI competition, which was treated as a total nuisance by CA, with the entire tournament held at the start of the Australian summer and finished so it wouldn’t interfere with the Test series and the Big Bash League.
That sort of timing might have been okay in 2017-18, when there were no important ODI series in the pipeline, but made no sense in 2018-19, with the World Cup in June.
CA only seemed to break out of its ODI lethargy only a few months ago, when it arranged visits to the UAE and India, as well as the warm-up games prior to the World Cup.
Selectors finally decided to bring together players who would form the basis of the World Cup squad but, in effect, allowed themselves a very small window to bring the bulk of the team together.
And all of a sudden, the team started to gel, started to win and obviously started to take shape as the eventual World Cup squad. All of this in four months.
Fast forward to the present and it’s clear Australia has some significant rebuilding to do, right now, if the side wants to maintain or even improve its world ODI ranking.
The question Cricket Australia needs to address is what it plans to do with one day cricket over the next four years, until a side is required to play in the 2023 World Cup in India.
It’s time for the ODI format to be respected more. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Australia will need to rebuild significantly, with perhaps as few as four of the current squad in contention to play in four years.
There will be plenty of opportunities for young players to strut their stuff, but what about the guys playing good international ODI cricket now? Do we dump them, knowing they’re not going to be around in 2023?
What obligations do we have to provide competitive teams, especially if we’re playing in another nation? It’s fair enough to leave out “injured” players, but if that opens us up to ridicule, as happened after that five-nil thrashing in England, how can that be a good thing for cricket in general, but the players in particular?
Do we want to lose so many games in a row, players mentally get used to it and find it almost impossible to win? That was pretty much the scenario before Aaron Finch took the squad to India and it required a huge effort to get back to winning ways.
Should ODI international cricket be treated as a second or even a third class game, behind domestic competitions like the BBL or even the IPL, neither of which have yet proven the breeding ground of our next generation of 50=over cricketers?
The old Cricket Australia administration, headed by James Sutherland and David Peever, made it pretty clear ODI cricket was not on their radar after 2015, because it made little or no money.
Their lack of attention to ODI cricket led to poor team results, which led more than a few fans to switch off or not attend, only exacerbating the problem which, in many ways, they created.
The new administration needs to declare how this part of the game will be treated and the best way to do that is make it very clear, ODI cricket is important and things like scheduling will reflect this.
Selectors need to choose teams, making sure sides are still very competitive, while keeping in mind the end goal – 2023.
Working hand in hand with selections has to be a clear understanding of the type of cricket this team will be expected to play as well as a preferred makeup.
In saying that, selectors can’t get tied up trying to find an all-rounder, for example, if there are no candidates of suitable international quality.
It may even pay to have an Australian A ODI side tour India for the next few years so younger possible World Cup candidates can get a feel for playing over there.
The one stroke of genius from this tournament Australia should try again, is an Australia A team over there at the same time as the Cup.
Whether more than Peter Handscomb from the A side should have been used in this Cup is a pub debate; the fact was, there was any number of candidates, match fit and ready to go, because they were playing competitive cricket.
There finally needs to be a plan starting with the Aussie 2022-23 summer, so plenty of ODI cricket is played before the squad is decided. It’s simply not good enough to wait until four months before such an important tournament, then try and slap a team together.
It’s clear other nations are getting much better at ODI cricket, almost with every game. Teams like Afghanistan and Bangladesh are no longer pushovers and will be even less so, come 2023.
They will be planning already how they might make the finals and if we don’t do likewise, we could easily find ourselves on an early plane home from India.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
Woakes missed the W Indies series due to a knee injury. Rashid was dropped during the series but had been a regular up to then Moeen played in the West Indies. If he plays, Archer will have his destructive moments but consistency may be his issue.
Paul
Roar Guru
hi Jeff, of the side that played the last 2 Tests in the West Indies, only Wood & Stokes are in the current ODI team. The other guys seem to be a flavor of the month, make the Test team, don't do a lot and are then discarded. Archer will be an interesting proposition. I'm betting England play him but am not sure he'll be a hit at Test level. It will certainly be an exciting time for Warner & co if he does get the new ball.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
I think their bowling attack is fairly similar across the two formats. Wood, Stokes, Woakes, Ali, Rashid often play both. I expect Archer may get a Test berth now he is eligible. Broad/Anderson are Test-only specialists nowadays.
Timmuh
Roar Guru
It is important to remember that in ther successful World Cups the squad was often not really assembled until the final year or so before the tournament. So, I doubt there will be wholesale changes before yet another India series. Some may choose to retire, either from the format or international cricket entirely to chase T20 money; and there might be a few a brought in. Trialling players this far out is no guarantee of form in four years time. Even if they fail, its not a pointer to who they will be later. The exposure can be helpful to development, although keeping them in Shield cricket should be the priority, but not really a guide to selection that far out. We don't have the talent of past years, so starting to get the squad ready earlier might be necessary - and it does no harm to keep it in mind when bringing a player in, but its not panic stations yet. There definitely are issues with the domestic ListA competition scheduling. Rarely are international players available, and being months before the home ODIs is an issue. CA do like the "tournament" format for it though, as it allows states to have a ListA squad separate from the Shield one and more closely reflects the WC - a solid block of 50 over games. Perhaps they simply need to be more flexible about when it is played, but the BBL slicing the summer in half makes all domestic scheduling difficult. (And is highly detrimental to picking replacement players for the later Tests.) Ideally, the BBL would be in October - but the financial reality is that won't happen for the men.
Paul
Roar Guru
Jeff, all of your comments on this issue make a heap of sense. What I don't think the selectors get is just how hard it is to find the right "type" of player to be good at this particular format, which is why I mentioned the need to decide what type of game Australia was going to use, moving forward. England players have opportunities to play way more 50 over cricket and it's reflected to a large degree in this team, BUT it's also reflected in many ways in their Test team as well. Bairstow & Roy/Hales - terrific at the top of the order in ODI's but completely out of their depth in Tests, Morgan ditto, Buttler - a work in progress and both Root & Stokes are the only two are capable of performing consistently in both formats. As for their bowlers. they have a totally different Test & ODI attack. IF T20 cricket hangs around, guys will specialize in that and many will think it's a springboard to ODIs, when Tests and long form cricket are the way to go, as this series has proven. Batsmen need to be able to build scores when the pitches aren't complete roads and bowlers need to a) have the stamina and mental strength to bowl 10 very good overs and b) find ways to either get guys out or contain when conditions don't suit. If Cricket Australia are going to pay lip service to ODI cricket at home, at least they need to beef up the Shield, so we can get guys capable of batting and bowling for long periods. Find the right short form "bashers" and we're a chance to come up with a decent ODI squad.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
The truncated 3 week domestic One Day comp in October seems to be entrenched in CA's scheduling psyche at the moment. I wonder whether the time has come for an early-winter comp (May) to also be held in Darwin/Cairns (for example) over 5 weeks - 6 teams playing each other twice, for 30 matches in 4 weeks plus a top 3 Finals approach in the last week (top team through to the Final, the other two play a qualifying SF). Would have to think about how this then connects re relevance to the Oct comp. Using two venues would cut down on costs at least - in any event the broadcast rights money CA receives nowadays should be able to accommodate this relatively minimal cost. That at least gives some form guide to ODI selection for the Australian ODI team's winter series which will be as follows: -2020: 3x versus ZIM (mid June) & 3x vs ENG (early July) -2021: 3x versus WIN (late June/early July) -2022: 5x(?!) versus SL (mid June/early July) ..ahead of the WC in Mid Feb/March 2023. There is basically no other cricket scheduled in any format for Australia between March and September during these three years (2020, 2021 and 2022) -
Jeff
Roar Rookie
The World Cup Super League approach to WC qualifying now provides some context to the WC every four years with all upcoming bilateral series counting towards qualification - unfortunately it is still the top 10 teams that qualify, which means it is the smaller of the Full Member countries (e.g. Ireland, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe) plus the leading Associate nation of the Netherlands, which will battle it out for a place in the WC "Finals". Perhaps the WC should only be 8 teams - not 10 - which would really see some fight for success in the lead in bilateral series. Unfortunately it is likley that broadcasting rights would not allow for this and the ICC has already confirmed 10 teams for the next WC, like the last one.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
What Jero said.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
You'll certainly get a break Peter. No ODIs until this summer vs NZ, then a bizarre trip to India in mid-Jan for 3x ODIs (India wasn't prepared to budge on changing scheduling), then 3x ODIs in SAF late Feb. A couple of short series in mid-winter v ENG and ZIM, then nothing again until January 2021. The main focus is T20s leading into the T20 World Cup in Australia November next year. After that the focus on ODIs intensifies.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
Good article Paul, captures most of my thoughts/observations also. The domestic One Day competition as it has stood for several years provides no pathway to ODIs for players, nor does it provide for form analysis by the selectors. For all of the predicted "death" of ODI cricket discussion over the last few years, this tournament -as was the case with 2015 - demonstrates that there is great interest by the cricket public in the format. England has certainly shown it considers the ODI format to be relevant and it is front and centre of Indian supporters minds. Without restructuring of the One Day domestic competition in Australia, selection FOR the ODIs will continue to be based on non-format performance (T20s) and the ODIs themselves will continue to be used for experimentation - try-it-and-see, and try again, and again - rather than for gelling the team together under one or two preferred strategic approaches. This approach will again result in finalsing team balance very late in the piece, and then deciding on what approach/style will work best with the cattle decided upon. I'm not sure what the domestic approach should look like at this point, but it needs to be a far greater improvement on what we have now. The cricket world has again shown it values the ODI World Cup and Australia needs to get on board with that.
Ben
Guest
Warner, Smith will almost definitely be there. Maxwell is finished, Finch heading towards another form trough so he wont be there. Khawaja...maybe. Carey maybe dependant on form and other Keeper-Batsman emerging. Travis Head is mediocrity personified, he should never play ODIs again. Chris Lynn if he can get his body fit should be in the mix, he hasnt been given a big enough opportunity to showcase his talent at this level.
Ben
Guest
Wait, so we pick Head, a mediocre ODI batsman as Captain for 3-4 years and the next world cup based on zero evidence he can perform over a long period of time. Good plan
U
Roar Rookie
Honestly, I would start planning for the next World Cup right now. New faces that will peak in 4 years is the way to go. The selectors have to see who they think can be still be there in 2023. Finch, Warner, Smith and Khawaja probably won’t be there. Carey for sure. Maxwell probably not. Starc might not even be fit enough to bowl in 4 years. Cummins hopefully will still be fit. Players like Head, Turner, Bancroft, Agar will most likely be in the mix. Joel Paris. The side will look very different next World Cup
Simoc
Guest
The ODI World Cup is good viewing once every four years. We really don't care outside that. Only NZ and England put time and effort into the format and whowl, they're in the final. India awash with great players can't decide on a team and their selectors are worse than Australias which is pretty damning. Fancy going back to Karthik and then batting Pant and Pandya ahead of Jadega. Jadega is less popular than Maxwell it seems but they're such an arrogant lot they thought they would win anyway, and most times they would have. Serves them right. Sack your selectors India. Handscomb was next in line for us anyway despite being out of his depth.
Graham
Guest
I've loved odis this world cup. It used to be my least favourite format however, you now see a genuine battle between bat and ball for 50 overs. This is probably due to the 2 new balls and the fielding restrictions. The fielding restrictions also mean classic cover drives and straight drives are going for 4 at all stages of the game I hope we master this format again.
Jero
Roar Rookie
As you say, at the very least there should be as many Australia and Australia A tours of subcontinental countries as possible in the lead up, to ensure that there’s a large sample size of performances involving a lot of players in conditions likely to be encountered in the next World Cup. The quality of opponents in their own conditions means that Australia will be properly tested if they do so, whether in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan (especially if games can be returned to home conditions rather than playing in the Gulf nations). Even Afghanistan would be testing, with their spinners in local conditions, say for an Australia A tour. They can’t just rely upon appearances in the IPL to gather such performance data. They need a group of players with significant experience as a team to find out what clicks, gels and basically works. There’s ample time, but only if it’s treated as a priority rather than a secondary matter. Even though our team really turned a corner before the World Cup against both India and Pakistan, our longstanding record on the subcontinent shows that we always have work to do in being match ready. And given that all subcontinental countries will have a comparative advantage in more conducive conditions than in either of the 2015 and 2019 World Cups, with spin likely to be much more of a weapon than in the Starc friendly conditions we’ve benefited from and largely relied on, our team’s assignment in 2023 will only get tougher. Particularly with the round robin format. It will be interesting to see what the future tours schedule shows: https://icc-static-files.s3.amazonaws.com/ICC/document/2018/06/20/6dc2c8d4-e1a5-4dec-94b4-7121fab3cd7f/ICC_Tours.pdf
Paul
Roar Guru
I have no issue with the ODI format taking a back seat for say, 12 months, but to forget it until the last minute, as was the case in the leadup to this tournament, is poor administration. We will need a full 3 years of "testing" before we hit on the right combination, that plays a brand of 50 over cricket that's both winning and sustainable. Based on the programme you mentioned, Jero, that doesn't leave a lot of time before 2023.
Harry Selassie
Roar Rookie
I quite like the ODI format and with the World Cup still the biggest event in world cricket being an ODI competition, to ignore ODIs is simply foolhardy and extremely short sighted from CA.
Cricket fan
Guest
I think AUS should pick Cam Bancroft at no 4 ahead of handscomb because he is also as good as handscomb and perhaps better technique than him better at offensive strokes making then followed by At Carey, Ashton Turner and G Maxwell my top 3 will be as it is
Jero
Roar Rookie
Australia’s men’s team will not play a single ODI prior to our brief tour of India in January next year, for three ODIs, between 14 and 19 January. We then play three ODIs in South Africa between 29 February and 7 March. Our first domestic ODI is not until 13 March, against New Zealand, with three ODIs between then and 20 March. Our men’s domestic ODI series dates are nowhere to be found on the Cricket Australia website, though presumably will again run from September to October. Our women’s team on the other hand are scheduled to host three ODIs against Sri Lanka in October, in the weeks prior to our men’s T20 team hosting three games against Sri Lanka from 27 October to 1 November. These are immediately followed by three men’s T20 games against Pakistan from 3rd to 8th November. What’s the take away from all that? Pretty much what you’ve said above Paul, only additionally Cricket Australia almost seems to be creating space in an overcrowded cricket calendar for focus to be on women’s ODI’s, to prevent them from vying with the men’s ODI team for broadcasting slots, while at the same time delivering on the broadcasting golden goose of domestic men’s international T20 matches. With ODI selections being made primarily based upon performances in T20, BBL and even Test matches, as well as a very brief domestic 50 over comp (the whole thing was wrapped up inside 25 days last year, which you suspect is easily overlooked and quickly forgotten by selectors) it’s hard to see how our men’s team will achieve what England has done so brilliantly in the space of four years since the 2015 World Cup. Unless there’s a significant step up in the number of our ODIs our men’s team plays, both domestically and abroad. Hopefully the 2020/21 domestic schedule reflects a shift in focus.