where pitches were competitive, not these roads that any Mickey Mouse batter can use to pad averages…

the modern day limited overs cricket is boring ….it’s fast food on steroids…too heavily weighted in favor of batters

suggested changes..

1. allow up to 3 bouncers per over
2. only 4 fielders must be in the circle. Get rid of power play restrictions
3. allow 2 bowlers up to 15 overs each. Unused allotment can be allocated to remaining bowlers
4. balls pitching wicket to wicket, or outside the off stump, cannot be called leg side wides
5. prepare better, more evenly balanced pitches..not these barren concrete tracks

These won’t solve the problem but it will give bowlers something to work with…

otherwise 50 over cricket, like West Indies, will continue to slide down the slippery slope to Mike Tyson’s bolivion..

50 over cricket should be closer to test cricket than it is to lickit and not the other way around …

@FanAttick wrote:

where pitches were competitive, not these roads that any Mickey Mouse batter can use to pad averages…

the modern day limited overs cricket is boring ….it’s fast food on steroids…too heavily weighted in favor of batters

suggested changes..

1. allow up to 3 bouncers per over
2. only 4 fielders must be in the circle. Get rid of power play restrictions
3. allow 2 bowlers up to 15 overs each. Unused allotment can be allocated to remaining bowlers
4. balls pitching wicket to wicket, or outside the off stump, cannot be called leg side wides
5. prepare better, more evenly balanced pitches..not these barren concrete tracks

These won’t solve the problem but it will give bowlers something to work with…

otherwise 50 over cricket, like West Indies, will continue to slide down the slippery slope to Mike Tyson’s bolivion..

50 over cricket should be closer to test cricket than it is to lickit and not the other way around …

On these lickit roads that the Indians now preparing every Tom, Dick, and Abhishek are making runs with their eyes closed and strutting around like they're great batsmen.

They are also breaking many records made by batters at a time when pitches did offer something for bowlers and batters had to earn their runs.

Not to mention the smaller boundaries, bigger bats, and all the restrictions placed on bowlers currently.

The bottom line is that there is no longer a contest between bat and ball. And as long as this imbalance continues the stuff on show at the moment isn't cricket - it's a WWE version of a game resembling cricket made for gamblers and casual observers.

@FanAttick wrote:

where pitches were competitive, not these roads that any Mickey Mouse batter can use to pad averages…

the modern day limited overs cricket is boring ….it’s fast food on steroids…too heavily weighted in favor of batters

suggested changes..

allow up to 3 bouncers per over

only 4 fielders must be in the circle. Get rid of power play restrictions

allow 2 bowlers up to 15 overs each. Unused allotment can be allocated to remaining bowlers

balls pitching wicket to wicket, or outside the off stump, cannot be called leg side wides

prepare better, more evenly balanced pitches..not these barren concrete tracks

These won’t solve the problem but it will give bowlers something to work with…

otherwise 50 over cricket, like West Indies, will continue to slide down the slippery slope to Mike Tyson’s bolivion..

50 over cricket should be closer to test cricket than it is to lickit and not the other way around …

50 over cricket peaked in the 90s. its only been downhill since. The 1999 world cup was the last great 50 over tournament. there have been a few low scoring scraps that have been genuinely exciting, and exciting because of the high standard of play(like the ICC Champions trophy final in 2004, the 2015 WC semi final between nz and SA, the champions trophy final in 2017, and that was only because of Mohammed Amir's excellent Wasim Akram impression), but generally ODI cricket has careened downhill since 2001. Recently i saw three tri series from 1993 and 1994 and it was amazing........the Total International tri series in 1993 in SA(SA, Pakistan and WI), The WSC 1992/3 tri series(Australia, Pakistan, WI) and the 1994 Nelson Mandela Cup(SA, Pakistan and NZ) and the quality of the tournaments were of the very highest standards.......every star player enjoyed a productive tournament.....lara was man of the series in the Total international series with two hundreds versus waqar, wasim and co and Donald and Fannie de Villears, Waqar took 5 for 25 against SA in a match they only needed 50 to win in the last ten overs and ended up losing by 10 runs, Bishop to 14 wickets in 6 games, second only to waqar in the tournament.

ODI cricket has fallen away as well because of the terminal decline of WI, pakistan and sri lanka, who dominated the format for long stretches, but also popularized it globally because of the brand of cricket they played

ODIS are already shrinking in terms of audience and space in the cricket calendar. I would also suggest getting back to Tri-lateral series and have a league system like WTC.

ICC plans to reduce ODIS in the next cycle:

https://www.espn.co.uk/cricket/story/_/id/50004728/icc-ftp-2027-31-more-t20is-fewer-odis-wtc-format-other-topics-icc-agenda

@SnoopDog wrote:

1. allow up to 3 bouncers per over
2. only 4 fielders must be in the circle. Get rid of power play restrictions
3. allow 2 bowlers up to 15 overs each. Unused allotment can be allocated to remaining bowlers
4. balls pitching wicket to wicket, or outside the off stump, cannot be called leg side wides
5. prepare better, more evenly balanced pitches..not these barren concrete tracks

On these lickit roads that the Indians now preparing every Tom, Dick, and Abhishek are making runs with their eyes closed and strutting around like they're great batsmen.

They are also breaking many records made by batters at a time when pitches did offer something for bowlers and batters had to earn their runs.

Not to mention the smaller boundaries, bigger bats, and all the restrictions placed on bowlers currently.

The bottom line is that there is no longer a contest between bat and ball. And as long as this imbalance continues the stuff on show at the moment isn't cricket - it's a WWE version of a game resembling cricket made for gamblers and casual observers.

@voiceofreason wrote:

ODIS are already shrinking in terms of audience and space in the cricket calendar. I would also suggest getting back to Tri-lateral series and have a league system like WTC.

ICC plans to reduce ODIS in the next cycle:

https://www.espn.co.uk/cricket/story/_/id/50004728/icc-ftp-2027-31-more-t20is-fewer-odis-wtc-format-other-topics-icc-agenda

@Jumpstart wrote:

50 over cricket peaked in the 90s. its only been downhill since. The 1999 world cup was the last great 50 over tournament. there have been a few low scoring scraps that have been genuinely exciting, and exciting because of the high standard of play(like the ICC Champions trophy final in 2004, the 2015 WC semi final between nz and SA, the champions trophy final in 2017, and that was only because of Mohammed Amir's excellent Wasim Akram impression), but generally ODI cricket has careened downhill since 2001. Recently i saw three tri series from 1993 and 1994 and it was amazing........the Total International tri series in 1993 in SA(SA, Pakistan and WI), The WSC 1992/3 tri series(Australia, Pakistan, WI) and the 1994 Nelson Mandela Cup(SA, Pakistan and NZ) and the quality of the tournaments were of the very highest standards.......every star player enjoyed a productive tournament.....lara was man of the series in the Total international series with two hundreds versus waqar, wasim and co and Donald and Fannie de Villears, Waqar took 5 for 25 against SA in a match they only needed 50 to win in the last ten overs and ended up losing by 10 runs, Bishop to 14 wickets in 6 games, second only to waqar in the tournament.

ODI cricket has fallen away as well because of the terminal decline of WI, pakistan and sri lanka, who dominated the format for long stretches, but also popularized it globally because of the brand of cricket they played

One of the most exciting 50 Over matches in my lifetime was one in which West Indies made 127 and bowled out England for 125…

Colin Croft was the destroyer but Clive Lloyd gave Holding the final over and West Indies ended up wining by 2 runs…Its a fallacy to think that 50 over cricket can only be exciting when wickets produce these mammoth scores….

That match was before my time but looking at the scorecard it appears that Botham's wicket when England was 114 was the key. Once WI got him victory was within reach.

But this match perfectly illustrates the point that pitches which favour bowlers tend to produce more exciting and more memorable cricket than pitches which favours batters.

One of the most exciting 50 Over matches in my lifetime was one in which West Indies made 127 and bowled out England for 125…

Colin Croft was the destroyer but Clive Lloyd gave Holding the final over and West Indies ended up wining by 2 runs…Its a fallacy to think that 50 over cricket can only be exciting when wickets produce these mammoth scores….

I remember listening to this match on the radio!

The grand old days!😎

And these pitches have the butt-lickers in ecstasy how we have improved our batting. When both matches we were 100 runs short after the start we had.

Once I saw how WIH handled the bowling, I told my co-worker this done in 45 or less, before a ball was bowled in India's inning

Man even in the oldest days of test cricket a bowler consistently bowling THREE BOUNCERS/OVER IN A 15 OVER SPELL would've been warned by the ump.and ultimately taken off!

@natty_forever wrote:

And these pitches have the butt-lickers in ecstasy how we have improved our batting. When both matches we were 100 runs short after the start we had.

@StumpCam wrote:

I remember listening to this match on the radio!

The grand old days!😎

@SnoopDog wrote:

That match was before my time but looking at the scorecard it appears that Botham's wicket when England was 114 was the key. Once WI got him victory was within reach.

But this match perfectly illustrates the point that pitches which favour bowlers tend to produce more exciting and more memorable cricket than pitches which favours batters.

Yeah…that Botham wicket on 114 was the turning point. He was threatening to run away with it…

Lloyd had some serious cojones. To throw the ball to Holding instead of Croft for that final over took guts. Had West Indies lost he would have taken some serious licks…

@natty_forever…indeed…

@FanAttick wrote:

where pitches were competitive, not these roads that any Mickey Mouse batter can use to pad averages…

the modern day limited overs cricket is boring ….it’s fast food on steroids…too heavily weighted in favor of batters

suggested changes..

1. allow up to 3 bouncers per over
2. only 4 fielders must be in the circle. Get rid of power play restrictions
3. allow 2 bowlers up to 15 overs each. Unused allotment can be allocated to remaining bowlers
4. balls pitching wicket to wicket, or outside the off stump, cannot be called leg side wides
5. prepare better, more evenly balanced pitches..not these barren concrete tracks

These won’t solve the problem but it will give bowlers something to work with…

otherwise 50 over cricket, like West Indies, will continue to slide down the slippery slope to Mike Tyson’s bolivion..

50 over cricket should be closer to test cricket than it is to lickit and not the other way around …

Man beating their rear end. When last he paid to watch a WI, 50 over game.

Totally agree with you FAN. 50 over Cricket should be as close as possible to test Cricket. That said is it possible the Indians are using West Indies to prepare for the World Cup and testing their chasing ability?

@CricSham wrote:

Totally agree with you FAN. 50 over Cricket should be as close as possible to test Cricket. That said is it possible the Indians are using West Indies to prepare for the World Cup and testing their chasing ability?

even so, on a flat surface, I am not how valuable this preparation will be

@ray wrote:

even so, on a flat surface, I am not how valuable this preparation will be

I am not saying it is I’m wondering whether it is possible. That said chasing 400 runs even on a flat pitch and a small ground creates its own level of pressure. Don’t kid yourself.