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Craig HillFix one day cricket boredom
February 7th 2007 05:46
After an earth shatteringly boring one day series it was England’s late show that finally shone some light on an otherwise dull tri-series. The mere maths of making three go into two after six games per side makes for tedious reading but for much of the series the one sided contests spoke for themselves.
Splitting the one day summer into two separate series against two touring nations as well as the Chappell Hadlee series with New Zealand will make for more interesting viewing and better quality cricket. It will also allow all of the one day venues around the country to benefit from the Aussie drawcards in action rather than settling for a poorly attended game between two touring sides where revenue generated barely covers costs.
Even if the scorelines in an elongated two team series become a little one sided crowds will be pleased to see the Australians in action. Fringe players may also find themselves getting into the action a little more without the issue of finals qualification clouding the scenario. Ravi Bopara for one would have been pleased to play a second game on the bounce rather than being dropped out for Michael Vaughan’s critical return last evening against New Zealand. Players like Cameron White and Brad Hogg could exist in a rotation policy like the pace bowlers do now and selectors would benefit from the evidence presented ahead of more major tournaments like the World Cup.
Ricky Ponting’s team look sure things to take out the final series but such is the quirky nature of this format that a first up victory for England in the final series, their third in a row if they pull it off, would go against the tide of a thus far comprehensive performance from the Australians this summer. Playing a series against just one opponent would eliminate this anomaly from the system.
A best of five game one day series and a best of three game 20/20 series against each of two touring nations would provide the necessary balance The players may not like any more 20/20 cricket but I am sure the fans won’t like a seven game series with a 5-0 scoreline any more than an unlucky Australian Cricket Family punter likes having to go to NZ v England as a poor man’s alternative to poor ticket availability.
Splitting the one day summer into two separate series against two touring nations as well as the Chappell Hadlee series with New Zealand will make for more interesting viewing and better quality cricket. It will also allow all of the one day venues around the country to benefit from the Aussie drawcards in action rather than settling for a poorly attended game between two touring sides where revenue generated barely covers costs.
Even if the scorelines in an elongated two team series become a little one sided crowds will be pleased to see the Australians in action. Fringe players may also find themselves getting into the action a little more without the issue of finals qualification clouding the scenario. Ravi Bopara for one would have been pleased to play a second game on the bounce rather than being dropped out for Michael Vaughan’s critical return last evening against New Zealand. Players like Cameron White and Brad Hogg could exist in a rotation policy like the pace bowlers do now and selectors would benefit from the evidence presented ahead of more major tournaments like the World Cup.
Ricky Ponting’s team look sure things to take out the final series but such is the quirky nature of this format that a first up victory for England in the final series, their third in a row if they pull it off, would go against the tide of a thus far comprehensive performance from the Australians this summer. Playing a series against just one opponent would eliminate this anomaly from the system.
A best of five game one day series and a best of three game 20/20 series against each of two touring nations would provide the necessary balance The players may not like any more 20/20 cricket but I am sure the fans won’t like a seven game series with a 5-0 scoreline any more than an unlucky Australian Cricket Family punter likes having to go to NZ v England as a poor man’s alternative to poor ticket availability.
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