Former Australian Test skipper Ian Chappell believes 50-over cricket has been left to rot by administrators, and holds fears for the future of the game.
The comments come after Cricket Australia announced on Monday the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy would for the first time be contested in the three T20Is between Australia and New Zealand beginning on Wednesday.
The trophy was traditionally contested across an ODI series between the trans-Tasman rivals, but on three occasions has been presented following one-off matches – two of those being at World Cups.
A statement from Cricket Australia, released on Monday, said the trophy would no longer be contested at one-off matches. A points system will also be used for future back-to-back ODI and T20 series, to avoid the potential of the trophy swapping hands twice within weeks.
Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley said the change would ensure the trophy would hold "greater relevance in years to come", and the change had come with the support of both families.
But speaking to Wide World of Sports, Ian suggested the change was a broader reflection of the precarious situation the 50-over game is in.
He blamed the demise of the 50-over game on "short sighted" administrators trying to "beat the game over the head with a big stick", rather than attempting to entice crowds back through innovation.
"They certainly have T20 cricket at the top of the pole, and there's more and more T20 cricket being played and less and less 50-over cricket," Chappell told Wide World of Sports on Monday.
"Anyone who thinks T20 is a better game than the 50-over game is off their rocker.
"The administrators have let 50-over cricket go, and I think they've let it go to the point where they may not be able to resurrect it."
Chappell added that the problem extended well beyond Australian shores. He said the emerging popularity of T10 cricket, which has gained a cult following through the European Cricket League, also presented a threat to T20s.
"As a cricketer, I want to walk off the field at the end of the day's play thinking I've earned my beer," he said.
"I don't think if I played a 20-over game and I faced four balls, that I would walk off the field thinking I've earnt my beer.
"There are T20 leagues popping up everywhere, and now you've got a few T10 leagues … what are you going to do if the crowd get bored with T20?
"Are you going to cut it back to T10 and then T5? How are you going to play a T5 game, walk off the field, and think you've earned your beer?"
Chappell said the popularity of the 50-over World Cup will keep the format alive in the short term.
But he's not convinced the format can ever regain the popularity it once held – the days of 90,000 packing the MCG long gone.
"I'd like to think that you'll get good crowds at the 50-over game because it's a very good game of cricket – the next best thing to a Test match," he said.
"But it's not in the mind of the administrators at the moment, and whether you can turn the clock back, I'm not so sure.
"I don't see the World Cup going up in smoke – it's too important and it's still pretty well attended.
"But if you're going to have the World Cup, you've got to have the players playing some matches.
"But will it have the importance that it used to have? I'm very doubtful."
Australia are the current holders of the Chappell-Hadlee trophy. It was last contested in three one-day matches in Cairns in September 2022.
The first T20 gets underway on Wednesday evening in Wellington.
As big change made for series named after him
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