One-day cricket finds much-needed spark
Peter Roebuck in the Sydney Morning Herald writes that 50-over cricket is not dying, if the Australia-England series is anything to go by.
Brydon Coverdale
25-Feb-2013
Peter Roebuck in the Sydney Morning Herald writes that 50-over cricket is not dying, if the Australia-England series is anything to go by.
Next comes the 50-over World Cup. Alas, the past few tournaments have lacked lustre. Nor can any high optimism be felt about the forthcoming shindig. After all, it's due to last seven weeks, and the bulk of the time will be filled with redundant qualifying matches. But those insisting that the 50-over game is old hat might be mistaken. Whereas T20 provides the promise of a boisterous night out, the longer version gives spectators a day at the cricket and offers them a chance to watch great players pushing themselves hard.
But in the Age, Martin Blake notes that Australia-England contests are not necessarily reflective of the wider cricket scene.
While the figures would have astonished those who believe ''traditional'' one-day cricket is in trouble, they need to be taken in context. More specifically, it's necessary to consider that the opponents are England. When Australia hosted Pakistan and the West Indies last summer, crowds were small, ratings poor and people jumped in to dismiss 50-overs cricket as an anachronism. The opposite has occurred this season.
Brydon Coverdale is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. He tweets here