Joe Root acknowledges growing uncertainty surrounding future of ODI cricket
England’s Joe Root admits doubts over whether ODI cricket remains “relevant” have not gone unnoticed by players at the World Cup in India, with scrutiny increasing over the future of the format.
The defending champions have been in desperate form at the tournament, losing three of their four matches to leave their semi-final prospects dangling by a thread, but there are wider questions over the 50-over game as the T20 behemoth continues to grow unchecked.
Barring a few outliers, including a lively crowd for England’s loss to Afghanistan in Delhi, attendances have been well below expectations in a country renowned for its passionate support and the lack of close finishes has contributed to a lack of ‘buzz’ at the competition.
The PA news agency understands there are early signs of concern at host broadcaster Star Sports and The Cricketer has reported that the long-range prospects of the one-day game will be discussed at the International Cricket Council’s next board meeting in November.
ICC chair Greg Barclay has already said the success of the event can only be judged once it is complete and sources have rebuffed the idea that the format is under threat. They cite long-term rights deals that include 50-over World Cups in 2027 and 2031 and record streaming figures of 43million viewers during India’s victory over New Zealand on Sunday.
In the United Kingdom, Sky Sports has a direct agreement with the ICC running for the next eight years, including both of those World Cups.
But Root, speaking at England’s team hotel in Bengaluru, acknowledged the growing sense of uncertainty.
“There’s talk of whether this format is relevant any more anyway, in international cricket,” said Root, who helped England win their first World Cup title in 2019.
“Whether that gets changed…I don’t know. Who knows how things move in the future? Whether it’s domestically or internationally, I don’t think we play enough of it if we’re going to continue to look to compete in World Cups.
“I think it’s got a huge amount of history and it brings a lot to cricket. It will always hold a very special part of my heart for what it’s given me throughout my career, but I think it’s a question that should be posed to the next generation of players, and to everyone watching the game, really.
“It shouldn’t be down to, ‘is it bringing the most money for the sport?’ It should be down to what people want to watch, and what’s going to engage the next generation of players. Because in the long term, I think that’s going to be most beneficial for cricket all-round.”
The issue is acute in England, where the legacy of becoming world champions in the format has been a downgrading of the domestic competition to developmental status.
The Metro Bank One-Day Cup is now contested largely by emerging players and second-teamers due to its clash with The Hundred, meaning the newest faces in Jos Buttler’s side – Harry Brook and Gus Atkinson – have barely played the format and are effectively learning it on a global platform.
Root is uneasy with that situation and believes if ODI cricket is to continue, radical steps may be necessary.
The Hundred has significant critics, as a form of the game that is not played anywhere other than England, but Root has put forward the T20 Blast – reliably popular among counties and county members – as a potential sacrifice.
“It doesn’t make me change my mind about The Hundred. It makes me question whether we should be playing more 50-over cricket instead of T20,” he said, before backing away slightly from what is a thorny conundrum with no easy solution.
“But I don’t want to get into a debate about this. I don’t want it to be seen as an excuse (for under performing) because that’s not what we’re about as a team. That’s not how I look at things, but I haven’t got any good argument for anything else.”
While matters of global infrastructure and international scheduling are sure to continue, England have more immediate problems after their unexpected run of adverse results which, thanks to Afghanistan’s shock win over Pakistan on Monday, have left them rock bottom of the table.
Thursday’s game against Sri Lanka is must-win to uphold any realistic hopes of reaching the knockouts and Root is hoping the do-or-die scenario can kickstart a revival.
“We’ll look at that as a World Cup final now, then do the same for the game after that and the game after that,” he said.
“I’ve played in a number of different England teams – good ones and bad ones. This is one of the very best; it’s a very together team and we know what we need to do.
“This white-ball team, over an eight-year period now, likes very simple messaging and has responded very well to it. We’ve got some very simple messaging in front of us right now: we have to go out and win. In some ways that unshackles us and frees us up to do what we do.”
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Windies women eye vital win against Bangladesh to keep semi-final hopes alive at T20 World Cup
After an impressive six-wicket win over Scotland, West Indies women will seek to build on that momentum when they take on Bangladesh in a crucial encounter that could define their campaign at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
The Caribbean side will enter Thursday’s contest knowing that another win would keep their semi-final hopes alive, as they currently sit in third position on two points, two behind leaders South Africa and England on four points each.
The first ball is 9:00am Jamaica time.
West Indies’ victory over Scotland was a much-needed confidence boost for the team, especially after a crushing 10-wicket loss to South Africa in their opening match. The win not only lifted their spirits but also boosted their net run rate, a key factor in determining the semi-final spots should multiple teams finish level on points.
Assistant coach Ryan Austin emphasized the Hayley Matthews-led team’s readiness to handle what promises to be a tricky challenge, as Bangladesh bowlers, particularly their spinners, have proven to be formidable opponents.
“The team is pretty prepared. We obviously know that Bangladesh is basically a spin-based unit, but with our philosophies, we are more focused on what we can control. Having said that, we still have that element of power within our batting that could counter the spin as well,” Austin said in a pre-game press conference.
“If you look at the wicket, they are playing pretty slow at the moment. South Africa today (Wednesday) actually had a good total on the wicket, and if you watch how they batted, they actually used their feet a lot to the spin. So we are looking to obviously go into the game with that sort of temperament mindset with respect to their spin bowling attack as well. Sharjah has almost kind of a two-paced kind of wicket because during the day it's very low and slow, but in the evenings it kind of changes and comes alive,” he added.
Austin exuded confidence in his team’s batting prowess, with the likes of Matthews, Stafanie Taylor, Deandra Dottin, and Shemaine Campbelle expected to play pivotal roles, especially with the group being poised for a tight finish.
Though those proverbial big guns are yet to really fire, Austin believes their true potential should come to the fore in Thursday’s game, as well as the decisive fixture against England. West Indies currently have a positive net run rate of 1.154, only bettered by leaders South Africa, who have 1.527.
“If you look at how our group is set up, net run-rate is really going to be a big factor later down, especially, if we win both games against Bangladesh and England. So one of the things that we really have to look at is how we go about executing, especially in this game against Bangladesh. So our game plan is to at least probably both first and then try to get to our target as fast as possible,” Austin reasoned.