ICC World Cup 2023: This is already a great World Cup and could be the GOAT of all World Cups!

[deltexas]

Even the Indian media is complaining about the shambolic way the BCCI is organizing this WC .

BCCI faces flak over World Cup ticket sales, poor attendance

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has faced backlash for low attendance at matches and poor event management. Many cricket fans have criticized the mismanagement of ticket sales for the ongoing Cricket World Cup. On social media, users have shared images of empty seats, drawing...

economictimes.indiatimes.com

 

[mikeypbadana86]

Sitting in the stadium for 7 hours, pathetic administration (I have no idea what you mean) and Sales of the ticket (whatever that means)..... is the only defence you could up with for the total lack of interest from Indian fans???

So then the quality of cricket is absolutely secondary? Right?

Before IPL Indian fans filled up the stadiums even when stadium facilities were not modren, BCCI did not have that much money hence poor administration, people had to sit on the steps, very few individual chairs and yet.... Indian stadiums filled up.

I don't know why are you so reluctant to admit that Indian fans do not care about anything related to cricket (quality or otherwise) except IPL. What's so hard about admitting it?

The decline of ODI viewership vs fast paced t20 could be a better arument. Youngsters in post covid era have lot of entertainment avenues. I see knock outs/Ind vs PAK as an exception.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Another great match match between two nearly evenly matched sides in the GOAT World Cup.

Only 8 games in too.

 

[Stewie]

highway world cup 2023 sponsored by the best and the flattest highways of India. woo hoo!

 

[hassan918]

Another great match match between two nearly evenly matched sides in the GOAT World Cup.

Only 8 games in too.

Yes, it was a great match yesterday between Pakistan and Sri Lanka and we surely going to have a lot more cracking matches in this World Cup. We may have another cracker of a game tomorrow between Australia and South Africa.

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Too early to say GOAT of the world World Cup but yeah it's going to be exciting as the tournament will progress, because many exciting matches are yet to come.

 

[Major]

never seen such terrible wickets in a game. These janaab fans were bashing Pakistan pitches, while tey themselves made flatracks for a WORLD CUP.

In logo sey koch bhi host nahi hota. Probably the worst host in the history of cricket. Even Bangladesh can host a better tournament than them.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Pitches are managed by ICC. Unfortunately, some people with their anti Bharat agenda won’t stop this negative talk.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

never seen such terrible wickets in a game. These janaab fans were bashing Pakistan pitches, while tey themselves made flatracks for a WORLD CUP.

In logo sey koch bhi host nahi hota. Probably the worst host in the history of cricket. Even Bangladesh can host a better tournament than them.

You mean the flat track where Pakistan actually managed to chase 344 made for terrible cricket?

 

[hassan918]

Pitches are managed by ICC. Unfortunately, some people with their anti Bharat agenda won’t stop this negative talk.

yes, it is an ICC tournament so ICC will have its say on the pitches but you can't produce a wicket like Lord's or Melbourne in India.

 

[Bhaijaan]

yes, it is an ICC tournament so ICC will have its say on the pitches but you can't produce a wicket like Lord's or Melbourne in India.

Delhi pitch was never batting friendlyZ

We hardly ever saw 300+ matches over there

Now that pitch is producing 425+

 

[Raja Ishtiaq]

Avg so far. One sided matches, lame crowds , poor commentary, poor cameramen. Not to mention some fans still waiting for visas lol.

Lets see if it improves.

Yeah not enjoying it that much so far.

I'm getting world cup 2007 vibes

 

[deltexas]

FWIW , the newer gen wants to see lots of 4s and 6s at the stadium. Us folks who like good 250 score games are a fraction of the target market. So it is pretty much ehat the market will demand. A lot of people liked the Ind Afg game better than the Ind Aus game as they thought the Aus game was "too slow" LOL

 

[hassan918]

Delhi pitch was never batting friendlyZ

We hardly ever saw 300+ matches over there

Now that pitch is producing 425+

Cricket is getting faster with every passing day and we see more and more high scoring matches. It won't be a surprise if we see some more 400+ totals in this World Cup.

 

[Kriketer]

To be honest, IPL does operate at a much higher level.

CWC has to be there for feel good factor , nationalism and all but otherwise IPL is the marque event in cricket today.

Only for you Indian while the rest of the world doesn't really care about IPL. I have never even bothered ever checking the scores or who won, last highlight I watched was only first season. It's Indian domestic tournament and nothing more. We passionately follow PSL and you follow IPL, simple as that. As for feel good CWC, yes you can make that excuse when your country will come to a stop on Oct 14, just like all other Pak-India game, you can pretend your domestic mickey mouse tournament is all that but in reality it isn't because we know what happens in India when Pak plays India

Don't know why you have to make silly laughable claims just to associate things to nationalism. It is your nationalism that is driving you guys koko, go easy on it

 

[baggy blue]

It seems like high scoring worldcup. And I generally don’t like high scoring games.

high scoring matches especially scoring in flat tracks are kinda off putting. apart from that the competition is thrilling.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Only for you Indian while the rest of the world doesn't really care about IPL. I have never even bothered ever checking the scores or who won, last highlight I watched was only first season. It's Indian domestic tournament and nothing more. We passionately follow PSL and you follow IPL, simple as that. As for feel good CWC, yes you can make that excuse when your country will come to a stop on Oct 14, just like all other Pak-India game, you can pretend your domestic mickey mouse tournament is all that but in reality it isn't because we know what happens in India when Pak plays India

Don't know why you have to make silly laughable claims just to associate things to nationalism. It is your nationalism that is driving you guys koko, go easy on it

First of all, we are extremely proud of our nationalism. This is what makes us a nation that the world respects. I know quite a few people feel somewhat intimidated or insecure by this but that’s how we Bharatiyas roll. We are united under one banner and that’s Bharat.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Lots of records broker and new one are being made already just few days in to this 2023 ICC world cup. No doubt this event will be the one to remember for long time.

 

[NeVerMind]

View attachment 137564
Lots of records broker and new one are being made already just few days in to this 2023 ICC world cup. No doubt this event will be the one to remember for long time.

But not a single match that has been close...even between the bigger teams like England vs New Zealand, India vs Australia or South Africa vs Australia, all one-sided affairs...

 

[sam_ahm]

The idea of a 10 team WC was to have more competitive and close games as per the ICC. From what we have seen so far the purpose seems to be long lost.

I'm a huge huge ODI fan but even I'm thinking that the T20 WC is far more entertaining as compared to these one sided tortures.

ODIs are literally being killed by Flat Pitches, 2 new balls and 4 players field restrictions until 40th over. A team that gets ahead, generally remains ahead now in ODIs. The possibility of come backs are minimal.

 

[W63L35]

Close ODI matches in the World Cup - by the margins of 3 wickets or 15 runs or less.

We may see some later but none so far in this WC.

Team	Result	Margin	BR	VS	At	Date
Pakistan	lost	1 wickets	2​	v West Indies	Birmingham	11-Jun-75​
England	won	14 runs		v Pakistan	Leeds	16-Jun-79​
England	won	9 runs		v New Zealand	Manchester	20-Jun-79​
Zimbabwe	won	13 runs		v Australia	Nottingham	9-Jun-83​
England	lost	2 wickets	1​	v New Zealand	Birmingham	15-Jun-83​
Pakistan	won	11 runs		v Sri Lanka	Leeds	16-Jun-83​
New Zealand	lost	3 wickets	43​	v Sri Lanka	Derby	18-Jun-83​
Pakistan	won	11 runs		v New Zealand	Nottingham	20-Jun-83​
Pakistan	won	15 runs		v Sri Lanka	Hyderabad (Sind)	8-Oct-87​
West Indies	lost	2 wickets	3​	v England	Gujranwala	9-Oct-87​
Australia	won	1 runs		v India	Chennai	9-Oct-87​
New Zealand	won	3 runs		v Zimbabwe	Hyderabad (Deccan)	10-Oct-87​
West Indies	lost	1 wickets	0​	v Pakistan	Lahore	16-Oct-87​
Australia	won	3 runs		v New Zealand	Indore	18-Oct-87​
Australia	won	7 runs		v England	Eden Gardens	8-Nov-87​
England	won	9 runs		v India	Perth	22-Feb-92​
Zimbabwe	lost	3 wickets	4​	v Sri Lanka	New Plymouth	23-Feb-92​
Australia	won	1 runs		v India	Brisbane	1-Mar-92​
South Africa	lost	3 wickets	1​	v Sri Lanka	Wellington	2-Mar-92​
South Africa	lost	3 wickets	1​	v England	Melbourne	12-Mar-92​
Zimbabwe	won	9 runs		v England	Albury	18-Mar-92​
New Zealand	won	11 runs		v England	Ahmedabad	14-Feb-96​
Australia	won	5 runs		v West Indies	Mohali	14-Mar-96​
Zimbabwe	won	3 runs		v India	Leicester	19-May-99​
Pakistan	won	10 runs		v Australia	Leeds	23-May-99​
Pakistan	lost	3 wickets	6​	v South Africa	Nottingham	5-Jun-99​
West Indies	won	3 runs		v South Africa	Cape Town	9-Feb-03​
Sri Lanka	won	6 runs		v West Indies	Cape Town	28-Feb-03​
England	lost	2 wickets	2​	v Australia	Gqeberha	2-Mar-03​
Pakistan	lost	3 wickets	32​	v Ireland	Kingston	17-Mar-07​
Sri Lanka	lost	1 wickets	10​	v South Africa	Providence	28-Mar-07​
Sri Lanka	won	2 runs		v England	North Sound	4-Apr-07​
West Indies	lost	1 wickets	1​	v England	Bridgetown	21-Apr-07​
Pakistan	won	11 runs		v Sri Lanka	Colombo (RPS)	26-Feb-11​
England	lost	3 wickets	5​	v Ireland	Bengaluru	2-Mar-11​
England	won	6 runs		v South Africa	Chennai	6-Mar-11​
England	lost	2 wickets	6​	v Bangladesh	Chattogram	11-Mar-11​
India	lost	3 wickets	2​	v South Africa	Nagpur	12-Mar-11​
Scotland	lost	3 wickets	151​	v New Zealand	Dunedin	17-Feb-15​
U.A.E.	lost	2 wickets	4​	v Ireland	Brisbane	25-Feb-15​
Scotland	lost	1 wickets	3​	v Afghanistan	Dunedin	26-Feb-15​
Australia	lost	1 wickets	161​	v New Zealand	Auckland	28-Feb-15​
Ireland	won	5 runs		v Zimbabwe	Hobart	7-Mar-15​
Bangladesh	won	15 runs		v England	Adelaide	9-Mar-15​
Bangladesh	lost	3 wickets	7​	v New Zealand	Hamilton	13-Mar-15​
Pakistan	won	14 runs		v England	Nottingham	3-Jun-19​
Bangladesh	lost	2 wickets	17​	v New Zealand	The Oval	5-Jun-19​
Australia	won	15 runs		v West Indies	Nottingham	6-Jun-19​
New Zealand	won	5 runs		v West Indies	Manchester	22-Jun-19​
India	won	11 runs		v Afghanistan	Southampton	22-Jun-19​
Afghanistan	lost	3 wickets	2​	v Pakistan	Leeds	29-Jun-19​
South Africa	won	10 runs		v Australia	Manchester	6-Jul-19​

 

[Stewie]

This is shaping up to be a terrible World Cup thanks to ridiculous wickets, shorter boundaries, the unfair dew factor and all. You win the toss, you have a big chance you will win.

 

[TheSultan]

Get rid of flat pitches and you’ll get better games.

India obv are the influential team that pretty much dictates everything to ICC.

I must say I’m disappointed with India’s vision and regressive mindset.

When you had the likes of abey kuruvilla, debashish, prasad, balaji, I could even understand wanting to prepare roads, but now you have decent bowlers but you still don’t trust them.

 

[W63L35]

WC 2023 already has the highest batting average and highest runs-per-over. I may change later but...

 

[Cricket Warrior]

Pretty much one sided world cup.

Nothing for bowlers at all.

 

[SpiritOf1903]

WC 2023 already has the highest batting average and highest runs-per-over. I may change later but...

View attachment 137596

Isn't that just a gradual increase since forever?. Better bats. Conducive pitches, 2 balls

 

[deltexas]

Get rid of flat pitches and you’ll get better games.

India obv are the influential team that pretty much dictates everything to ICC.

I must say I’m disappointed with India’s vision and regressive mindset.

When you had the likes of abey kuruvilla, debashish, prasad, balaji, I could even understand wanting to prepare roads, but now you have decent bowlers but you still don’t trust them.

Man those were the trundler days LOL ! Painful painful memories from those times - used to shudder against Jayasurya and Saeed Anwar.. Medicore trundler trash Kuruvilla Kumaran Agarkar mohanty DoddaG salvi the list was endless LOL! Srinath and Kumble used to give quality 20 overs and the rest 30 overs had to be covered by the trundler pacers or trundler spinners like Joshi NikhilChopra Kapoor Sanghvi etc etc.. Things only improved when Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra , Sreesanth later on came on board to support Srinath; and Harbhajan, Ashwin came to support and replace Kumble..

 

[deltexas]

Isn't that just a gradual increase since forever?. Better bats. Conducive pitches, 2 balls

Absolutely just a gradual increase.. Plus increased batsmen confidence in addition to shorter boundaries. Nowadays even number 10 or 11 batsman can hit 6s- back in the 90s and early 2000s very few tail enders could hit 6s. Just a natural evolution of the game. If you remove 1987 WC , from the list you can see that from 2003 onwards every successive WC, the RR has only risen. Just a normal progression of the game especially after T20 became mainstream. And 2027 will be even better NRR if it is not scrapped..

 

[Dios]

This is one of the worst major sporting tournaments ever. It is long, drawn-out, barely any crowd turnout and terrible organisation (starting tournament midweek, no opening ceremony, no world cup song, one game a day, flat pitches). There is no hype or excitement whatsoever. BCCI and India might have just single-handedly killed one-day cricket.

 

[TheSultan]

NGL, the best World Cups are always in England - good variety of pitches

 

[FearlessRoar]

1999 is GOAT of all ODI world cups

 

[sam_ahm]

NGL, the best World Cups are always in England - good variety of pitches

Australia and South Africa are good too. Australia have big grounds so 6 hitting is a bit difficult, and generally they have sportive pitches so it never gets boring there. South Africa lately might have produced very high scoring games but not every track is flat, South Africa traditionally produces good ODI games. So does Zimbabwe. Next World Cup in RSA and Zim should, I think, be better.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Lots of records have been broken and new ones have been made just a few days into this World Cup. This World Cup is nothing but a great one already.

 

[vprasanna83]

NGL, the best World Cups are always in England - good variety of pitches

Earlier maybe . Post 2015 , all England ODI pitches are roads

 

[vprasanna83]

Get rid of flat pitches and you’ll get better games.

India obv are the influential team that pretty much dictates everything to ICC.

I must say I’m disappointed with India’s vision and regressive mindset.

When you had the likes of abey kuruvilla, debashish, prasad, balaji, I could even understand wanting to prepare roads, but now you have decent bowlers but you still don’t trust them.

Actually Indian pitches have a lot of natural variations. You got to blame this WCs roads on ICC whose directions were to prepare batting friendly pitches .

ICC as an organisation are responsible for killing ODI cricket over the years

 

[sam_ahm]

This World Cup may see a lot of dead rubbers if the bottom 5 teams don't put up a fight and get eliminated early. At the moment that looks a real possibility.

 

[bones]

I didn't watch any of the Indian innings, too much misery for me like most of your. However this world cup format is poor. No excitement as there are too many dead rubbers. I switched to Tennis and Snooker because it's straight knockout. Straight knockouts for cricket though are a high risk especially with the big teams.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Great match yet again . Can't complain about flat pitch because on a flat pitch , even PAK FTB's like Iftikhar would have managed to score 350 just like in Hyderabad.

Amazing World Cup despite the pathetic administration

 

[Bhaijaan]

Another great match

 

[hassan918]

Another great match

It was a great match until the 29 overs in the Pakistan innings. After that, it was a one way traffic.

 

[Bhaijaan]

It was a great match until the 29 overs in the Pakistan innings. After that, it was a one way traffic.

The match turned on its head after Babar’s wicket. The collapse came out of nowhere

 

[Nikhil_cric]

The idea of a 10 team WC was to have more competitive and close games as per the ICC. From what we have seen so far the purpose seems to be long lost.

I'm a huge huge ODI fan but even I'm thinking that the T20 WC is far more entertaining as compared to these one sided tortures.

ODIs are literally being killed by Flat Pitches, 2 new balls and 4 players field restrictions until 40th over. A team that gets ahead, generally remains ahead now in ODIs. The possibility of come backs are minimal.

Thoughts now, brother? Biggest upset in World Cup history at the GOAT World Cup.

 

[Bhaijaan]

This World Cup is getting warmed up.


Bharat vs Aussies was a good match
Pak vs Lanka was a top match
Then Bharat vs Pak , very entertaining
Now Afgans smashing England

 

[adzzy786]

I like the format , gives everyone a fair chance to qualify

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Lol at the moment this World Cup is nowhere near GOAT world cups. OP has a habit of going overboard with self praises. In my opinion, 2011 World Cup hosted by Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India was much better. And when it comes to hosting World Cups there is no better place than England or South Africa. Fans from all over the world can easily go there and support their teams.

 

[Markhor]

Sorry but this World Cup has displayed all the flaws of ODI cricket which is fast outliving its usefulness, and the present WC format.

IMO the biggest problem with ODI cricket, especially relative to T20, is the vast majority of matches lack any sense of jeopardy or tension that comes with close, competitive matches (partly as the format's so skewed towards batsmen).

Most of these WC matches have been foregone conclusions at the interval, or around 10-20 overs into the 2nd innings. The first game where NZL chased down ENG's 282 is an example. When NZL were 150-1 and cruising towards an inevitable victory - the game is reduced to a formality, a mere data gathering exercise. The SAF-SRL match is another. Even the most optimistic SRL fan knows they're not chasing 428.

In T20 even in the most dire situations a team can always recover as winning totals are lower anyway. When IND were 31-4 at the MCG last year vs PAK the contest was still far from over. It's also easier in a 20 over contest for lower ranked teams to spring an upset. 31-4 in an ODI is a near death sentence.

Then we come to the format. Despite ENG and AUS already losing 2 matches - who cares ? They can still qualify for the semi-finals. It's a microcosm of cricket's biggest problem in attracting new audiences besides the length of a game and the complexity - most of the results just don't matter. Be it bilaterals or long winded group stages of ICC tournaments.

There's simply no point, unless you're a diehard cricket fan, to watch until the latter stage of a competition.

 

[chinaman00]

Without doubt, the best World Cup in decades. Proper diversity in the types of pitches on offer. Teams that came with assumptions about Indian pitches are finding it out the hard way and getting a reality check.

This is a World Cup that tests players in multiple fronts.

 

[Devadwal]

This is going to be one of the best world cup.
Afghanistan beaten World champion England was a favourite moments so far .

 

[Nikhil_cric]

never seen such terrible wickets in a game. These janaab fans were bashing Pakistan pitches, while tey themselves made flatracks for a WORLD CUP.

In logo sey koch bhi host nahi hota. Probably the worst host in the history of cricket. Even Bangladesh can host a better tournament than them.

Did you like the pitch for the India Pakistan , @Major Beautiful track. Not flat at all.

 

[SpiritOf1903]

Only Indian hype machine would say this South Africa would be much more preferable

 

[Devadwal]

Only in india all teams are competitive. what a great world cup.

 

[hassan918]

These are the margins of victory so far in this World Cup that suggests we are not having too many close matches that is not great for the tournament. I hope we see a good number of close matches and thrilling finishes in the upcoming matches.

1. NZ beat England by 9 wickets
2. Pakistan beat Netherlands by 81 runs
3. Bangladesh beat Afghanistan by 6 wickets
4. S Africa beat Sri Lanka by 102 runs
5. India beat Australia by 6 wickets
6. NZ beat Netherlands by 99 runs
7. England beat Bangladesh by 137 runs
8. Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by 6 wickets
9. India beat Afghanistan by 8 wickets
10. S Africa beat Australia by 134 runs
11. NZ beat Bangladesh by 8 wickets
12. India beat Pakistan by 7 wickets
13. Afghanistan beat England by 69 runs
14. Australia beat Sri Lanka by 5 wickets

 

[Bhaijaan]

Sorry but this World Cup has displayed all the flaws of ODI cricket which is fast outliving its usefulness, and the present WC format.

IMO the biggest problem with ODI cricket, especially relative to T20, is the vast majority of matches lack any sense of jeopardy or tension that comes with close, competitive matches (partly as the format's so skewed towards batsmen).

Most of these WC matches have been foregone conclusions at the interval, or around 10-20 overs into the 2nd innings. The first game where NZL chased down ENG's 282 is an example. When NZL were 150-1 and cruising towards an inevitable victory - the game is reduced to a formality, a mere data gathering exercise. The SAF-SRL match is another. Even the most optimistic SRL fan knows they're not chasing 428.

In T20 even in the most dire situations a team can always recover as winning totals are lower anyway. When IND were 31-4 at the MCG last year vs PAK the contest was still far from over. It's also easier in a 20 over contest for lower ranked teams to spring an upset. 31-4 in an ODI is a near death sentence.

Then we come to the format. Despite ENG and AUS already losing 2 matches - who cares ? They can still qualify for the semi-finals. It's a microcosm of cricket's biggest problem in attracting new audiences besides the length of a game and the complexity - most of the results just don't matter. Be it bilaterals or long winded group stages of ICC tournaments.

There's simply no point, unless you're a diehard cricket fan, to watch until the latter stage of a competition.

To be honest, the shorter the format, the greater the probability for the match to go either way. If we had Hong Kong sixes like tournament , you would see a lot more upsets and nail biters but that doesn’t always separate the best teams from the rest.


50 overs format is long enough to reward the better team on the given day.

And also, I respect where you’re coming from and I too might have held the same thoughts on certain days but where I stand now, I see that a match has to have moments where it is tense but I also have come to understand that a 50 overs match is never going to be a nail biter from beginning to the en.

The e best examples are that of Bharat’s two matches vs Aussies and Pakistan. The way Bharat finished both matches, someone looking at the scorecard would write them off as one sided dull matches but only we Bharatiyas know that we were not breathing a sigh of relief vs Aussies until Kohli and Rahul had batted like a 100 deliveries minimum and similarly vs Pakistan we were fully engaged till Kuldeep’s double wicket over. As a fan if I can walk out of a 50 overs match with this much engagement i would feel I have seen a good match.

Not saying this to defend the tournament but yeah the end scorecard doesn’t always reflect the quality of a match.

The way Rohit batted vs Pakistani pacers was devastating to say the least. Frankly speaking no matter how bad people would say Rauf or Shaheen bowled, what Rohit did to them is not something even many greats of the game can pull off. It was gutsy batsmanship of the highest order and full value for money. Had we batted 40 overs to chase it safe, then it would have been boring but it was a good attacking chase. Good match

 

[Nikhil_cric]

It's difficult to have close games on good wickets . These are not T20's.

When teams of similar strength played, you could see a close match. Like SL vs PAK.

On the other hand , when the gap between teams is massive, teans will get exposed and beaten in 30 overs like IND v PAK.

 

[Saj]

Not a great spectacle so far.

Too many one-sided matches.

The tournament needs a last-ball thriller, badly.

 

[Technics 1210]

All possibilities of being a GOAT WC were diminished on the weekend.

Stadiums are still 80% empty with the exception of one match.

This WC is at best the GOAT of WC failures.

 

[Devadwal]

It's not problem of India,South Africa and NZ that other team are performing very badly . some overrated team are exposing themselves in this world cup.

 

[topspin]

Almost every contest so far has been one sided and the crowds have been disappointing.

Overall, it's been a very disappointing spectacle.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Sorry but this World Cup has displayed all the flaws of ODI cricket which is fast outliving its usefulness, and the present WC format.

IMO the biggest problem with ODI cricket, especially relative to T20, is the vast majority of matches lack any sense of jeopardy or tension that comes with close, competitive matches (partly as the format's so skewed towards batsmen).

Most of these WC matches have been foregone conclusions at the interval, or around 10-20 overs into the 2nd innings. The first game where NZL chased down ENG's 282 is an example. When NZL were 150-1 and cruising towards an inevitable victory - the game is reduced to a formality, a mere data gathering exercise. The SAF-SRL match is another. Even the most optimistic SRL fan knows they're not chasing 428.

In T20 even in the most dire situations a team can always recover as winning totals are lower anyway. When IND were 31-4 at the MCG last year vs PAK the contest was still far from over. It's also easier in a 20 over contest for lower ranked teams to spring an upset. 31-4 in an ODI is a near death sentence.

Then we come to the format. Despite ENG and AUS already losing 2 matches - who cares ? They can still qualify for the semi-finals. It's a microcosm of cricket's biggest problem in attracting new audiences besides the length of a game and the complexity - most of the results just don't matter. Be it bilaterals or long winded group stages of ICC tournaments.

There's simply no point, unless you're a diehard cricket fan, to watch until the latter stage of a competition.

I'm sorry but these are very generic criticisms of the ODI format at large.

Many were complaining about 350 on 350 matches during the last cycle when scores even went to 450 -480

Now we have many scores below 300 but the complaint is that it is getting chased in 35 overs .


We are also seeing AFG score 280 twice now . Once they got smashed and once they defended it on the same pitch.

But people will still complain.

ODIs were never highly balanced like some fans think.


People only remember what they want .



Take your favourite matches of the past and try to watch all 100 overs.

Watch India vs Pakistan from 2003 World Cup and after Sachin gets out, there is a phase where absolutely nothing happens for. 15 overs.

Thing is you just don't remember that part.


Everyone remembers 1992 fondly.

Nobody will sit and watch Rameez plodding his way to let PAK score 220 in 50 overs .

Or when Pakistan took 40 overs to get bowled out for 74 in the group match vs England.

Most fans only remember their favourite matches


People have already forgotten the previous World Cup forget 1992.

Absolute rubbish matches between a few gems.

 

[Sunzi]

1996 was my favourite. The Pakistan team was made of some of my all time favourite players and the tournament feautured heroes from the history of the game. Unexpected winner.

Too many great players from all nations. Ambrose! The Waugh Bros, Warne, Sachin, Lara, the new approach from Jayasuriya and Kaluwithrana, Vaas, Aravinda, Gough, Streak, Donald, Pollock etc.

Also this period was before the advent of T20 so this format had great stock.

1999 was also pretty good, some thrilling matches - irrespective of being a Pak fan, the final was a damp squib.

 

[JaDed]

1996 was my favourite. The Pakistan team was made of some of my all time favourite players and the tournament feautured heroes from the history of the game. Unexpected winner.

Too many great players from all nations. Ambrose! The Waugh Bros, Warne, Sachin, Lara, the new approach from Jayasuriya and Kaluwithrana, Vaas, Aravinda, Gough, Streak, Donald, Pollock etc.

Also this period was before the advent of T20 so this format had great stock.

1999 was also pretty good, some thrilling matches - irrespective of being a Pak fan, the final was a damp squib.

Teams refusing to play in Lanka made it a dud also Pak team had Miandad in it fgs and no Wasim.

1999 was definitely great but as an Indian fan it sucked coz Sachin missed initial games and Zim sneaked in and the final was so bad.

The most expected and competent one was 2011, top teams made it to second round and KOs were a cracker.

 

[Markhor]

I'm sorry but these are very generic criticisms of the ODI format at large.

Many were complaining about 350 on 350 matches during the last cycle when scores even went to 450 -480

Now we have many scores below 300 but the complaint is that it is getting chased in 35 overs .


We are also seeing AFG score 280 twice now . Once they got smashed and once they defended it on the same pitch.

But people will still complain.

ODIs were never highly balanced like some fans think.


People only remember what they want .



Take your favourite matches of the past and try to watch all 100 overs.

Watch India vs Pakistan from 2003 World Cup and after Sachin gets out, there is a phase where absolutely nothing happens for. 15 overs.

Thing is you just don't remember that part.


Everyone remembers 1992 fondly.

Nobody will sit and watch Rameez plodding his way to let PAK score 220 in 50 overs .

Or when Pakistan took 40 overs to get bowled out for 74 in the group match vs England.

Most fans only remember their favourite matches


People have already forgotten the previous World Cup forget 1992.

Absolute rubbish matches between a few gems.

Thing is back then there wasn't another limited overs format to compare ODIs with. Now 20 overs crams in all the action of 50.

Anyway my point is I'm not criticising the hosting of the WC (although the organisation by any objective standard has been poor). It's that the inherent flaws in ODI cricket and its deprioritisation by boards, means it'd struggle to capture the masses anywhere even if Lee Kuan Yew was chief organiser.

Since 2019, ODI bilaterals have been like an extended net session but with crowds. More players have retired from the format meanwhile more T20 leagues have launched. You can sense India isn't buzzing like in 1996 and 2011. And if the most cricket mad country on earth aren't hyped for a WC, surely it's time to call stumps on ODIs.

I agree Test cricket is a dud, financially unviable bar a select group of nations. However we both know it'll never be discarded. So play the bare minimum for sake of history, tradition etc with T20s as the premium white-ball format.

I realise boards won't eliminate ODIs provided the broadcasters still support it, but this WC should cause serious soulsearching about the structure of international cricket.

 

[Suleiman]

Most forgettable WC in history. Good amount of people don’t even know there’s a WC going on.

Can be saved if Pakistan or BD lift the trophy.

 

[RexRex]

However we both know it'll never be discarded. So play the bare minimum for sake of history, tradition etc with T20s as the premium white-ball format.

Why won't it be discarded ? If nobody is there to watch, why keep it alive ? Because England has good attendances ? These are confused arguments.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Thing is back then there wasn't another limited overs format to compare ODIs with. Now 20 overs crams in all the action of 50.

Anyway my point is I'm not criticising the hosting of the WC (although the organisation by any objective standard has been poor). It's that the inherent flaws in ODI cricket and its deprioritisation by boards, means it'd struggle to capture the masses anywhere even if Lee Kuan Yew was chief organiser.

Since 2019, ODI bilaterals have been like an extended net session but with crowds. More players have retired from the format meanwhile more T20 leagues have launched. You can sense India isn't buzzing like in 1996 and 2011. And if the most cricket mad country on earth aren't hyped for a WC, surely it's time to call stumps on ODIs.

I agree Test cricket is a dud, financially unviable bar a select group of nations. However we both know it'll never be discarded. So play the bare minimum for sake of history, tradition etc with T20s as the premium white-ball format.

I realise boards won't eliminate ODIs provided the broadcasters still support it, but this WC should cause serious soulsearching about the structure of international cricket.

The point is how are we so sure sure that this is because of the format? Because MCC and ECB tell us so? Does anybody remember the World T20 in Australia and how poorly Australia's last match against AFG was? Nobody even bothered to attend it despite the home side playing

The only buzz was for India matches and the knockouts.

Isn't it a great argument to just cull the World T20 instead of playing it every year? What justification exists to play WT20's every year or 2 years?

How can cricket fans get excited for a World Cup when there were 2 World T20's and 2 WTC finals in the last 2 years?

Was this the case in 1996 ?


Surely the amount of ICC cricket, meaningless Test matches and bilateral T20I's are just as big issues if not bigger issues.

Also, since 2019 the ICC have clearly prioritised WTC and World T20's and neglected ODIs completely.


Let's all be honest here. How many people attended England and New Zealand's Test tours of Pakistan in the stadiums? Any numbers on that?


On the other hand, I'm sure an ODI triangular between these teams would draw more crowds especially if something was at stake(WC qualifying points etc)

 

[shokz1408]

Missing that World Cup feeling, no close matches at all. Pitches favouring lots of runs, good bowlers getting smashed around. High scoring games are not entertaining, the pitches in England were great. At this point it is one of the worst world cups I have seen, this run fest will kill odi cricket.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Why won't it be discarded ? If nobody is there to watch, why keep it alive ? Because England has good attendances ? These are confused arguments.

This is the only reason the are trying to kill it. Test cricket gets audiences in England at least for certain opponents. Nobody cares about ODI's there even after they won the World Cup.

 

[RexRex]

This is the only reason the are trying to kill it. Test cricket gets audiences in England at least for certain opponents.

It's catering to a very tiny segment of the global cricket watching population. It does nothing for the spread of the game.

 

[Kaptan]

I must say pitches have been very good, there is something for everyone. Good to see spinners making impact after so long.

Also no rain till now, which is a big positive in my view.

Now it's the job of teams like Pakistan, England and Australia to make it better. Saturday's game could have been a cracker, imagine India chasing 310 and losing a couple of wickets early on. Instead all we got was a boring but royal thrashing of Pakistani bowlers.

 

[Markhor]

Why won't it be discarded ? If nobody is there to watch, why keep it alive ? Because England has good attendances ? These are confused arguments.

Test crowds have been sparse for decades outside England, but the format still hasn't been scrapped.

 

[ghalib kichlu]

We need more exciting finds like lance klusener of 99 or kaif of 2003
No speed merchants like wahab of 2015 either
It's all been one way traffic unfortunately

Lovely stadiums and welcoming, I'm sure more players will sign up for the IPL after seeing the modern stadiums and the passion for cricket

 

[Technics 1210]

Luckily no one was injured!

Cricket World Cup stadium roof breaks apart and falls on fans during Australia v Sri Lanka

Spectators forced to flee as scaffolding and advertising hoardings tumble in high winds during match in Lucknow

www.telegraph.co.uk

 

[Devadwal]

Most forgettable WC in history. Good amount of people don’t even know there’s a WC going on.

Can be saved if Pakistan or BD lift the trophy.

Whoever perform better will win it .all the overhyped team , number 1 batsman, World best pace attack etc who were performed against B and C teams are exposed by quality team in this world cup .

 

[Devadwal]

Luckily no one was injured!

Cricket World Cup stadium roof breaks apart and falls on fans during Australia v Sri Lanka

Spectators forced to flee as scaffolding and advertising hoardings tumble in high winds during match in Lucknow

www.telegraph.co.uk

Due you even know the reason?? There was strong winds during the match that's why .Nature is non debatable .

 

[Devadwal]

Missing that World Cup feeling, no close matches at all. Pitches favouring lots of runs, good bowlers getting smashed around. High scoring games are not entertaining, the pitches in England were great. At this point it is one of the worst world cups I have seen, this run fest will kill odi cricket.

Pitch were in England great??

 

[Technics 1210]

Scaffolding is evidence that the some of the grounds are simply not ready to host matches.

Poor poor planning for the richest crickets board.

 

[Markhor]

The point is how are we so sure sure that this is because of the format? Because MCC and ECB tell us so? Does anybody remember the World T20 in Australia and how poorly Australia's last match against AFG was? Nobody even bothered to attend it despite the home side playing

The only buzz was for India matches and the knockouts.

Isn't it a great argument to just cull the World T20 instead of playing it every year? What justification exists to play WT20's every year or 2 years?

How can cricket fans get excited for a World Cup when there were 2 World T20's and 2 WTC finals in the last 2 years?

Was this the case in 1996 ?


Surely the amount of ICC cricket, meaningless Test matches and bilateral T20I's are just as big issues if not bigger issues.

Also, since 2019 the ICC have clearly prioritised WTC and World T20's and neglected ODIs completely.


Let's all be honest here. How many people attended England and New Zealand's Test tours of Pakistan in the stadiums? Any numbers on that?


On the other hand, I'm sure an ODI triangular between these teams would draw more crowds especially if something was at stake(WC qualifying points etc)

1) Lack of buzz: Due to ODIs decline vs ICC event saturation ?

There were three ICC events in the three years leading up to the 2011 World Cup, including 2 T20 World Cups, yet it didn't reduce interest in that event. The difference now is T20 is far more established as a commercial entity and the undisputed #1 white-ball format whereas then ODIs still had value. Bilaterals in 2007-2011 weren't the joke they are now.

Look ICC events in close proximity doesn't help either but even without them the inherent flaws in ODI cricket remain. Forget the purists - why should an average viewer watch two white-ball formats when one delivers the same amount of action in half the duration, and a greater number of close contests/upsets ?

2) Domestic List A cricket

Another sign of ODI's dwindling relevance is how domestic List A cricket not only rarely features the best players but doesn't consistently form the basis for ODI selection.

Haris Rauf debuted in ODIs primarily because of his T20 exploits. Same with Gus Atkinson and many other examples. Therefore if ODI selection is being determined by T20 performances - why shouldn't we just make T20 the sole white-ball format ?

3) T20 World Cups

The T20 World Cup was only held in consecutive years in 2021 and 2022 because Covid delayed the former edition meant to be held in 2020. The 2022 edition many memorable contests from PAK-IND, ENG-IRE, PAK-ZIM, SA-NED and the various upsets in the qualifier. Admittedly the crowds were poor but the tournament wasn't being held during the peak of the Australian summer, and fans already saw Australia win the previous year. The crowds for ODIs vs ENG were even worse.

I agree every two years is too frequent, but culling the T20 World Cup is a nonstarter for non-Big 3 boards whose depend heavily on ICC revenue. Every time there's elections for ICC Chairman you'll have one candidate representing boards who want more ICC tournaments and another representing boards who still find bilaterals profitable. So whatever cricket structure we envision must account for cricket's political/economic realities

4) Mapping the future

That last sentence is key - every match must have something at stake. This is a very rough sketch but how about:

- A WTC where each team plays each other once over a four year cycle ending in a final, split into two divisions. D1 consists of the top nine nations and D2 has IRE, AFG and ZIM. The 9th ranked team in D1 is replaced by the winner of D2. Due to its economic unviability but status as a legacy product, let each board determine the amount of Tests they can economically afford.

- A T20 World League that determines qualification for the T20 World Cup much like the ODI Super League to give bilateral T20s context.

- T20 World Cup every four years.

Anyway this debate can continue forever but think there's consensus we need more cricket of consequence and competitiveness.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

1) Lack of buzz: Due to ODIs decline vs ICC event saturation ?

There were three ICC events in the three years leading up to the 2011 World Cup, including 2 T20 World Cups, yet it didn't reduce interest in that event. The difference now is T20 is far more established as a commercial entity and the undisputed #1 white-ball format whereas then ODIs still had value. Bilaterals in 2007-2011 weren't the joke they are now.

Look ICC events in close proximity doesn't help either but even without them the inherent flaws in ODI cricket remain. Forget the purists - why should an average viewer watch two white-ball formats when one delivers the same amount of action in half the duration, and a greater number of close contests/upsets ?

2) Domestic List A cricket

Another sign of ODI's dwindling relevance is how domestic List A cricket not only rarely features the best players but doesn't consistently form the basis for ODI selection.

Haris Rauf debuted in ODIs primarily because of his T20 exploits. Same with Gus Atkinson and many other examples. Therefore if ODI selection is being determined by T20 performances - why shouldn't we just make T20 the sole white-ball format ?

3) T20 World Cups

The T20 World Cup was only held in consecutive years in 2021 and 2022 because Covid delayed the former edition meant to be held in 2020. The 2022 edition many memorable contests from PAK-IND, ENG-IRE, PAK-ZIM, SA-NED and the various upsets in the qualifier. Admittedly the crowds were poor but the tournament wasn't being held during the peak of the Australian summer, and fans already saw Australia win the previous year. The crowds for ODIs vs ENG were even worse.

I agree every two years is too frequent, but culling the T20 World Cup is a nonstarter for non-Big 3 boards whose depend heavily on ICC revenue. Every time there's elections for ICC Chairman you'll have one candidate representing boards who want more ICC tournaments and another representing boards who still find bilaterals profitable. So whatever cricket structure we envision must account for cricket's political/economic realities

4) Mapping the future

That last sentence is key - every match must have something at stake. This is a very rough sketch but how about:

- A WTC where each team plays each other once over a four year cycle ending in a final, split into two divisions. D1 consists of the top nine nations and D2 has IRE, AFG and ZIM. The 9th ranked team in D1 is replaced by the winner of D2. Due to its economic unviability but status as a legacy product, let each board determine the amount of Tests they can economically afford.

- A T20 World League that determines qualification for the T20 World Cup much like the ODI Super League to give bilateral T20s context.

- T20 World Cup every four years.

Anyway this debate can continue forever but think there's consensus we need more cricket of consequence and competitiveness.

So, here's the solution. Have a World T20 in 2025 and then have one every 4 years like a proper World Cup is supposed to be scheduled.

Disband the WTC

Why should boards be forced to play Tests at all? If Sri Lanka, PAK, SA, West Indies are making losses from Tests,(and they are) why even bother holding them? So that 10 people and 15 crows can watch Williamson score a slow double hundred on a Karachi patta and waste 5 days of a shrinking calendar?


Legacy series like Ashes, Border Gavaskar, Trans-Tasman , India-Pakistan(hypothetically) can all be arranged bilaterally and at the convenience of both boards whenever the calendar is free and if there really is a demand for the said series.

Why does a legacy format need a structure and a championship anyway? There are only 3-4 competitive teams right about now.

On the other hand, there are World Cups in 2027 and 2031 and like you said there is no List A anyway. So bilateral ODI's are a must.

Even in ODI's, only Top 6 teams have half a chance at winning the Cup. Netherlands are here to be whipped . SL and AFG might upset one or 2 teams and thats it.

So, Top 6 sides(from this World Cup group stage rankings) can play 12 ODI's every year either as 4 bilateral series(2 home and 2 away) or 2 triangulars(1 home and 1 away) . Would be highly competitive ODI cricket

Why not have something like this. The remaining sides can qualify from a Division 2 of the ODI League.

There's no need for bilateral T20I's except during a World T20 year because these guys play enough franchise for that.

The calendar would make so much more sense.


Without bilateral ODI's , World Cups are meaningless. Can just scrap them forever

 

[Markhor]

So, here's the solution. Have a World T20 in 2025 and then have one every 4 years like a proper World Cup is supposed to be scheduled.

Disband the WTC

Why should boards be forced to play Tests at all? If Sri Lanka, PAK, SA, West Indies are making losses from Tests,(and they are) why even bother holding them? So that 10 people and 15 crows can watch Williamson score a slow double hundred on a Karachi patta and waste 5 days of a shrinking calendar?


Legacy series like Ashes, Border Gavaskar, Trans-Tasman , India-Pakistan(hypothetically) can all be arranged bilaterally and at the convenience of both boards whenever the calendar is free and if there really is a demand for the said series.

Why does a legacy format need a structure and a championship anyway? There are only 3-4 competitive teams right about now.

On the other hand, there are World Cups in 2027 and 2031 and like you said there is no List A anyway. So bilateral ODI's are a must.

Even in ODI's, only Top 6 teams have half a chance at winning the Cup. Netherlands are here to be whipped . SL and AFG might upset one or 2 teams and thats it.

So, Top 6 sides(from this World Cup group stage rankings) can play 12 ODI's every year either as 4 bilateral series(2 home and 2 away) or 2 triangulars(1 home and 1 away) . Would be highly competitive ODI cricket

Why not have something like this. The remaining sides can qualify from a Division 2 of the ODI League.

There's no need for bilateral T20I's except during a World T20 year because these guys play enough franchise for that.

The calendar would make so much more sense.


Without bilateral ODI's , World Cups are meaningless. Can just scrap them forever

Some valid suggestions. My question remains though that the economic unviability of Test cricket outside the Big 3 nations has been evident for the last 30 years so why has the format remained ?

Okay Test cricket never being scrapped was too strong a statement - obviously I cannot guarantee the future. However for the short/medium-term I think it's unlikely. Therefore shouldn't we still provide it context and retain whatever audience it has ?

The closest thing we'll get to abolition is the current compromise whereby teams simply play the bare minimum they can afford.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Note:
Please stay on the topic of this thread. There is no point discussing the existence of Odi and tests in this thread as we have other threads available for that discussion. All unrelated posts will be removed now.