Twenty20 driving ODIs closer to extinction

The one-day series in New Zealand is testimony to the amazing pace at which this form has shed its complexity, rid itself of formula and arrived at a simplicity that might, in the end, bring about its own ruin. A couple of years ago, the complaint against the 50-over game was that it had become too predictable, with a beginning, middle and end that, like Greek drama, followed a pattern. The technical committee of the ICC then went about introducing some complexity - the revolving substitute, the Powerplay - which it hoped would shake the game up and make it more interesting.

However it is not legislation that is pushing one-day cricket now, but the influence of Twenty20 that is making it advance to the past. Rather abruptly, the game has been reduced to its simplest terms - hit into the stands. And the ease with which batsmen do this is making a mockery of tactics, field placings and bowling plans. There might be a shakeout soon enough, with bowlers righting the balance with something new - but history is against them. Bowlers haven’t had as much of an influence in the shorter game as they’ve had over Test cricket.

In a sense, this is going back to the future, at least where Indian cricket is concerned. In the 1970s, when India were reluctant players of the then new one-day format, batsmen played as if hitting sixes and boundaries was all that the game was about. Other countries had already worked out that singles were important, and by the 1980s, Bob Simpson, the Australian coach had demonstrated that reducing the number of dot balls was crucial. Slog overs were designated thus.

Bowlers, especially medium pacers in the early days, focused on not giving away runs rather than taking wickets. Then came the pinch hitter. But all these changes took time. Generally, it was the World Cup that showcased new tactics, which meant that the game evolved gradually over four years, and then got it all together on its biggest stage.

But now Twenty20 has accelerated change, and appropriately enough, it is India, the world champions who are spearheading the new revolution. They have used the essence of the new format - with its frenetic hitting - and adapted it to the one-day international. It has worked so well that the threat of the extinction of the ODI has become very real.

For, if the 50-over game is identical to Twenty20, then one of the two formats will become redundant, and the one most likely to be scrapped is the longer version. Survival for the three formats depends to a large extent on keeping themselves distinct, separate from one another.

Can we really say all this after just a handful of matches? Yes, sometimes you see a world in a grain of sand.