Not end of the road for ODIs: Lorgat
The calls for a rethink on the present, and future, of the 50-over format may be getting louder, but the CEO of the International Cricket Council, Haroon Lorgat, begs to differ.
The calls for a rethink on the present, and future, of the 50-over format may be getting louder, but the CEO of the International Cricket Council (ICC), Haroon Lorgat, begs to differ.
“I think the situation is very similar to when everyone was writing off Test cricket, people are getting ahead of themselves,” Lorgat said from Dubai on Wednesday.
“Look at the ongoing one-day series between England and Australia, despite England having lost the series, we are seeing some high quality cricket.
“Even the tri-series in Sri Lanka had some great cricket, it is definitely not the end of the road for ODIs. There is definitely a place for ODIs and I was very happy to see former players share that sentiment recently.”
Having said that, Lorgat did admit that the Champions Trophy needed a revamp, to make it one of the marquee events of the calendar.
“We have worked on it (the Champions Trophy) and one of the first steps was to stage the entire tournament in one city,” Lorgat said. “We have made it a destination event, with players, officials and fans converging in one city, and that will be a refreshing change. It will be a short, sharp tournament, with the teams having to win at least two of their three group games.”
Though newer, more radical methods of tinkering with the format have been forwarded recently, Lorgat was of the view that it was important that “too much wasn't done too quickly” with ODIs.
“The introduction of Powerplays has helped improve the game, and right now, we want people to get used to the format as it is now,” Lorgat said.
“We want things to settle down, and be careful in not doing too much too quickly. Adjustments can be made, but not at the moment.”
Asked if cutting down on ODIs, rather than tinkering with the format, was the way forward, Lorgat said: “All series are decided bilaterally and only the two boards in question can cut down on games, the ICC is, however, working on redesigning the Future Tours Programme in order to achieve a balance among the three formats.”
WI given lifeline
The ICC handed a lifeline to the beleaguered West Indies Cricket Board, saying they will be allowed to make changes to their Champions Trophy squad if they can resolve the contract issue. “We understand the extent of the challenge, and if they resolve the issue and wish to change the team, we will try and do it as late in the day as possible,” Haroon Lorgat said.
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