Crucial test for 50-over format

The World Cup in the sub-continent could well have a decisive say in what course the 50-over game takes in the next couple of years. If the tournament is well received by the fans and the quality of the cricket is both high and thrilling, it is likely that the one-day version will tide over the mini-crisis. Should the tournament be a bit of a flop, then the 50-over game could be sent into oblivion, and mark the birth of perhaps 40-over internationals.

“I am a big fan of 50-over cricket,” Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said on Thursday, throwing his weight behind the embattled version. “In Test matches, we have to wait for five days to get a result and in T20 cricket, things happen in five overs! I am a big fan of the 50-over version because it is a mix of the Test and T20 formats. If you lose quick wickets and are three-four down in the first 15 overs, then you see a glimpse of Test cricket where a couple of batsmen are battling it out for runs and in the last five or seven overs, they go for the slog. I have always loved one-day cricket, but that does not mean I don’t like Tests or T20.”