Lack of close matches - Major concern for ODIs

[happydavy]

Since beginning of 2020, the traditionally top 10 teams (including WI, Zim and excluding Afg and Netherlands) have played each other 196 times. Of this teams winning by 3 wickets or less OR 20 runs or less happened only in 35 matches, which is less than 18%. Instead, 71% of the times in these 196 matches, the victory margin was over 30 runs or 5 wickets or more. While we know several reasons why ODIs are falling behind, but this is also a major issue. 71% of times are by and large not much of contest games, there just aren't enough close games to get spectators' mind share.

 

[hitthestump]

The scores are a bigger problem.

So many 50 over games which play like a prolonged t20 is terrible for the health of the format.

I don’t understand why ICC are lacking any proactivity to make the format more balanced.

The old ODI rules weren’t perfect but they were miles better than this nonsense.

 

[jnaveen1980]

In Indian conditions with surface with aberration reverse swing plays a major role. Guys like Shami thrive on that. That has definitely eliminated old ball threat.

 

[Caved12]

Making phatta wickets like we see in this world cup are only going to kill this odi format faster than expected. Might as well play this world cup on a video game platform.

 

[Nado_]

I’ve been saying this for ages , they’ve killed format by making things too in favour of the batsman. The lower scoring games always give the best thrillers and close encounters.

The problem with flat pitches and the two new ball rule is that once a team is set theyl just keep scoring and scoring. You might aswell fast forward the middle overs in most games as it’s mostly down to a batsman mistake to give a wicket. Bowlers are forced to be more economical rather than go for wickets.

There used to be so many bowling heros, but it seems ICC just want to have bowling machine style bowlers so you can maximise the boundary count.

Seeing a bowler beat the edge or send the wickets flying gives you a rush.

Seeing the spinner tie webs around a batsman makes you appreciate.

And when a batsman hits the boundary you know they’ve hit a top shot.

Pathetic ICC thanks for trying to kill the best format (in my opinion)

 

[jnaveen1980]

ANother factor is T20's domination. Players are mentally more attuned to taking down the bowling any stage of the game. They treat last 20 overs as T20 with wickets in hand. But i very much doubt the trend of this world cup will be like that. As the pitches get tired, spin will come into play. Even today Maharaja bowled some peaches. He just didn't have a support spinner.

 

[Nado_]

ANother factor is T20's domination. Players are mentally more attuned to taking down the bowling any stage of the game. They treat last 20 overs as T20 with wickets in hand. But i very much doubt the trend of this world cup will be like that. As the pitches get tired, spin will come into play. Even today Maharaja bowled some peaches. He just didn't have a support spinner.

This is why there needs to be a difference with t20 and 50 over and that’s why it makes no sense as to why they change the rules to two new balls. The whole point of 50 overs as compared to 20 is that it shouldn’t be as easier to bat through like a t20

 

[Babeikh]

My cricket craze began in 1992 so I saw a lot of 90s cricket, 00s cricket etc. I love(d) ODIs.

Agree with a lot of the points already made above but in short, I loved watching ODIs in the 90s,00s when 250 was a good score.

Flat, pancake wicket, playing conditions in favour of batsman etc have turned ODIs into basically 7 hour long T20s. Crowds will not be interested in this. The whole point of a T20 is that it is over in 3/3.5 hours. It can be done after work in the evening. It can be done in a Saturday afternoon etc. ODIs should not just be long T20s. Let T20s be the smash, bang, wallop format of the game. Let ODIs have their own identity, not just some T20 which takes all day to finish.

 

[Flat_Track_Bully]

My cricket craze began in 1992 so I saw a lot of 90s cricket, 00s cricket etc. I love(d) ODIs.

Agree with a lot of the points already made above but in short, I loved watching ODIs in the 90s,00s when 250 was a good score.

Flat, pancake wicket, playing conditions in favour of batsman etc have turned ODIs into basically 7 hour long T20s. Crowds will not be interested in this. The whole point of a T20 is that it is over in 3/3.5 hours. It can be done after work in the evening. It can be done in a Saturday afternoon etc. ODIs should not just be long T20s. Let T20s be the smash, bang, wallop format of the game. Let ODIs have their own identity, not just some T20 which takes all day to finish.

The whole point of cricket is bat v ball. The rule changes and drop ins have destroyed ODI cricket.

 

[Nado_]

Even look at the 2011 World Cup , you had the odd game that just went past 300 runs , (Eng vs India , one of the best odis I’ve seen) but you had good games that were around 260-280. That World Cup remembered for batting from the likes of Tendulkar , Yuvraj but there were bowling heros too ie Zaheer Khan, Afridi, Gul, Lee, Malinga.

Some great matches in that World Cup and of course electric crowds

 

[Nado_]

Back then a century really meant something. To hit a century in an odi was no easy feat

 

[DeadlyVenom]

The ODIs where 250-270 was a tough score were the golden age of the format.

 

[hitthestump]

The ODIs where 250-270 was a tough score were the golden age of the format.

Nothing was better than the contest of a batting team needing 7.5 runs per over versus a soft and reversing ball.

Now 7.5 rpo has become a cakewalk with a ball barely 20 overs old.

This has been the case for years yet the ICC does absolutely nothing. There must be a reason for it that we don’t know about.

 

[hassan918]

In order to get more close matches, ICC have decided to not increase the number of teams in the World Cup. We are surely going to see many close encounters in this World Cup that should keep the fans interested in this format.

 

[mominsaigol]

Guys relax, Pakistan will provide many close encounters, heart breaks and will keep you on the edge of your seats. . We are the one team who are unable to take advantage of such rules lol

 

[YousafTheBeast]

The format needs drastic changes.

Reduce the maximum overs to 40 per side. That would cut the game time from 7.5 hours to 6 hours.

A 40 over game chasing scores of 280-300 would be more exciting than watching a run a ball chase.

Apart from India, England, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, the other teams don’t have the quality to chase scores of 350 in 50 overs, which is why we keep getting these one sided games.

We’ve seen it done before in England, with the Clydesdale bank 40 over competition, no reason why it can’t be done for ODI’s.

 

[ArabKnight]

The format needs drastic changes.

Reduce the maximum overs to 40 per side. That would cut the game time from 7.5 hours to 6 hours.

A 40 over game chasing scores of 280-300 would be more exciting than watching a run a ball chase.

Apart from India, England, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, the other teams don’t have the quality to chase scores of 350 in 50 overs, which is why we keep getting these one sided games.

We’ve seen it done before in England, with the Clydesdale bank 40 over competition, no reason why it can’t be done for ODI’s.

Actually, no.

Change back rules for bowlers.

- Two new balls per innings
- 2 10-over bowling power plays
- Remove umpires call
- Remove free hits
- Remove boundary touch while catching is a six
- Remove limit of 2 bouncers per over

 

[YousafTheBeast]

Actually, no.

Change back rules for bowlers.

- Two new balls per innings
- 2 10-over bowling power plays
- Remove umpires call
- Remove free hits
- Remove boundary touch while catching is a six
- Remove limit of 2 bouncers per over

I personally don’t want to sit in front of the TV for 7 hours watching both teams struggle to score over 5 an over only for it to get a bit exciting at the end when the equation goes from needing 240 off 300 to 30 off 15 balls. We have test cricket for that.

There’s a reason why changes were made in the past, we’re only missing the old rules because the new rules have made the games too one sided.

 

[ArabKnight]

I personally don’t want to sit in front of the TV for 7 hours watching both teams struggle to score over 5 an over only for it to get a bit exciting at the end when the equation goes from needing 240 off 300 to 30 off 15 balls. We have test cricket for that.

There’s a reason why changes were made in the past, we’re only missing the old rules because the new rules have made the games too one sided.

The points that I brought up would bring excitement and finish the match quicker many times over than just chopping off 10 overs.

 

[kumjsr]

The format needs drastic changes.

Reduce the maximum overs to 40 per side. That would cut the game time from 7.5 hours to 6 hours.

A 40 over game chasing scores of 280-300 would be more exciting than watching a run a ball chase.

Apart from India, England, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, the other teams don’t have the quality to chase scores of 350 in 50 overs, which is why we keep getting these one sided games.

We’ve seen it done before in England, with the Clydesdale bank 40 over competition, no reason why it can’t be done for ODI’s.

That's only way to go. Currently who match becomes 8+ hrs affair. If you're watching from stadium then it's total 12 hrs.

Reduce it to 6 hrs and it will be feel like an entirely evening or moring game.

 

[ArabKnight]

Guys relax, Pakistan will provide many close encounters, heart breaks and will keep you on the edge of your seats. . We are the one team who are unable to take advantage of such rules lol

You were right.

The Pakistan vs Sri Lanka match right now is the only close & exciting match of this World Cup so far.

 

[hassan918]

Tomorrow it will be Australia vs South Africa and I am expecting a close mach between these two. They recently produced really exciting matches during their bilateral series so we should expect a really cracking game tomorrow.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Let’s stop winging.

Pakistan gave us an epic match.
Bharat’s match bs Aussies was quite good too.

This World Cup is just warming up

 

[jnaveen1980]

Ashwin 1 year back warned that world cup matches in the evening should be started a little early so that they can finish the game before the dew set in. It is going to be a big factor in some places.

 

[hassan918]

Ashwin 1 year back warned that world cup matches in the evening should be started a little early so that they can finish the game before the dew set in. It is going to be a big factor in some places.

So far, we haven't face much issue with the dew in any of the matches and I am sure that we are going to see many close matches in this World Cup.

 

[jnaveen1980]

So far, we haven't face much issue with the dew in any of the matches and I am sure that we are going to see many close matches in this World Cup.

Today SA killed Australia before there was any dew.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Nasser Hussain comments about on-going ICC World Cup 2023 matches:

"This is the thing that has been lacking in this tournament - a close game. We need a really close game, not just a couple of overs to go. It's been very one-sided."

 

[kron]

ANother factor is T20's domination. Players are mentally more attuned to taking down the bowling any stage of the game. They treat last 20 overs as T20 with wickets in hand. But i very much doubt the trend of this world cup will be like that. As the pitches get tired, spin will come into play. Even today Maharaja bowled some peaches. He just didn't have a support spinner.

60 ball 120 chase is not unheard of. It's not even all that daunting at all. If you have 6 wickets or even 5 left 120 chase in 60 balls is nothing. More than 120 it's a problem though.

 

[Devadwal]

Becouse most of players are selected throughout T20 performance .

 

[jnaveen1980]

You cannot manufacture close games out of thin air if one of the team is always crap despite winning the toss. It is what it is. There is no solution if one team is having a complete no show.

 

[Rajdeep]

Lack of close games are a genuine concern in this format. ICC need to do something to revamp it...else 50 overs cricket will be dead in next few months. Players are treating it as an extended T20 where ODIs were meant to be closer to test cricket.

Sachin Tendulkar is harping about 2 innings of 25 overs each from a long time to make it more balanced. Maybe it is time to implement it and see if it helps.

 

[jnaveen1980]

There is no pattern here. Teams have defended total. Chased total. Toss winners have lost a lot of matches. Small teams have beaten bigger sides and vice versa.

 

[Mas-LFC]

ODI my favourite format but tbh it’s fast decreasing atm. In t20s Theres been much more closer contests last 4years, plus even if a team plays poor it’s not like it drags on like ODI’s do, as its only 20overs and it finishes quickly. Idk what future holds but something like might give maybe one of the format has to be scrapped and it looks like it might be ODI’s.

 

[Mas-LFC]

Lack of close games are a genuine concern in this format. ICC need to do something to revamp it...else 50 overs cricket will be dead in next few months. Players are treating it as an extended T20 where ODIs were meant to be closer to test cricket.

Sachin Tendulkar is harping about 2 innings of 25 overs each from a long time to make it more balanced. Maybe it is time to implement it and see if it helps.

Definitely need to rethink about ODI format. Maybe go back to 5 fielders outside 30yard after first 15overs and allow 3 outside for first 15ov, have two balls but one used for first 20 then the other next 30overs, like taking a new ball after 20 overs.

 

[viveks]

what were the stats before 2020?

 

[MenInG]

The Pak v SA game is bucking the trend...

 

[hassan918]

We have two back to back thrilling games. One yesterday between Pakistan and South Africa and today between Australia and New Zealand and as long as we are having such games, ODI cricket is going nowhere.