Last week Mark Nicholas took over as the MCC president with the assertion that "we believe strongly that ODIS should be World Cups only", and though Twenty20s seem to be taking over the world I strongly disagree. I am lucky to have seen many great World Cups, and within them many wonderful individual performances, and it is familiarity with the format and its tactics that freed players to excel in those tournaments. If there are no bilateral series it would put that in real jeopardy.
Whether it is now or in the next couple of years, England are about to replace a great generation of one-day international players. How can those coming in get to be really good at 50-over cricket if it's sidelined domestically and barely played at international level? Is our game run only to earn as much money as possible, or can we balance the desire for commercial success with sustaining tradition, past couple of generations, and ensuring the fabric of the game remains intact for those to come.
We are finally nearing the end of the World Cup's long group stage and there has been enough entertainment to convince doubters about this format. What is clear is that this particular England team has no future in it. Against the Netherlands Dawid Malan batted in a very classy way and made the game look simple, Ben Stokes produced a classic one-day innings, playing himself in and accelerating incredibly later on, and Harry Brook looked in very good touch before misjudging one that went a big quicker than he thought, and bounced a bit higher - not a great dismissal, but not muddled like the others.
This story is from the November 10, 2023 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the November 10, 2023 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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