The existing one-day format is fine, says Ganguly

Responding to Heath Streak's call to revamp one-day cricket, Sourav Ganguly said he saw no reason to change the existing format.

"I believe one-day cricket is doing just fine, and there is no reason why it should be tampered with," Ganguly said. "It could be said about the one-day games of the past that they could become flat at certain times, but the one-bouncer rule has brought a competitive equation to it."

Ganguly is a formidable presence in the one-day game, with 9049 runs with 22 centuries at an average of 43.11. But in Tests, where the bowlers hold more sway, he is less authoritative.

The one-bouncer-an-over rule was implemented to give bowlers an element of surprise in what has become a batsman-dominated game. "Now a good bowler has the freedom to test out a batsman. It is not as if the batsmen are having a free run all the time," Ganguly continued. "But for the fielding restrictions in the first 15 overs, a fielding side and a bowler are free to do whatever they want to on a cricket field."

Streak had suggested that the 15 overs could be spread out over the innings, to sustain interest in the middle overs. "If I could use the 15 overs in blocks of, say, five overs each, it would allow me to experiment more. It might help change the quiet period you often get in games between 14 and 40 overs."

Greg Chappell seconded Streak's call for changes. "I believe one-day cricket could retain its interest if there is a contest between bat and ball. Without it, the game could turn out to be too flat."

Limited-overs cricket has come under fire for being repetitive, with interest slacking off during the middle overs of an innings. What is interesting is that, for a while, the one-day game was regarded as Test cricket's saviour. But the recent pattern of high-scoring result-oriented Tests has brought more people through the turnstiles, and increased television ratings.