Streak - 'Experiment to keep one-dayers exciting'

Heath Streak, Zimbabwe's captain, believes one-day internationals should consider new rules and fresh ideas to maximise its interest and appeal.

Talking ahead of Zimbabwe's opening game of the VB Series against Australia at Sydney on Sunday, Streak said: "One-day cricket is a fantastic advert for the game, but there is a risk that unless a tight finish is involved, the game can be predictable for players and fans.

"Spectators now have dozens of sports and entertainment to choose from on their TV screens, so cricket has to find a way of holding its own in a crowded market."

Streak had a few ideas of his own on how to shake things up a bit. "For example, as a captain, I'd support the idea of being able to change the current fielding restrictions from the first 15 overs of a match, when you have to have two catchers and only two fielders outside of the circle.

"If I could use the 15 overs in blocks of, say, five overs each, it would allow me to experiment more with my bowlers and have new options to try in the field. That might help change the quiet period you often get in games between overs 16 and 40."

He also suggested the introduction of international Twenty20 cricket, the 20-over format introduced in England last season. "We saw the instant impact that Twenty20 cricket had in England when we toured there in the last northern summer," he said. "Perhaps the ICC could experiment with an international version of Twenty20, which I think would pull in spectators and be an attractive formula for telecasters."

Streak, who has played 172 one-dayers for Zimbabwe, warned that the game needs to keep coming up with new ideas. "With 11 countries playing limited-overs internationals there is plenty of scope to experiment with some fresh thinking," he said. "Cricket needs to find a way of keeping itself attractive and interesting. Test cricket should always be there as the purest form of the game, but one-day internationals provide the perfect opportunity for some creative thinking."