Clock ticking for 50-over cricket

When one-day cricket first hit Australia in the late 1970s, some were suggesting it would spell the end of the traditional longer form of the game.

The brain-child of businessman Kerry Packer, it was a massive jolt to cricket administrators, who scrambled to shore up the long form of the game.

But now it is the 50-over format that is under pressure, with the resurgence of Test cricket and more particularly, the impact of Twenty20 since it recently exploded on to the world scene.

The latest blow has been delivered by the England and Wales Cricket Board, which has abandoned its domestic 50-over competition from next year and replaced it with a 40-over format.

Former Australian coach John Buchanan knows well all forms of the game, but he remains positive about the prognosis for the 50-over format.

"There's no doubt that the 50-over competition has been in serious need of revamping for some time and that's now been accelerated by the advent of 20-over cricket," Buchanan said.

"I personally believe that there's still room for all three forms of the game.

"But that would only be the case if indeed the 50-over game became more like the 20-over game.

"In other words, more back into a derivative of 20-over cricket as opposed to being a derivative of Test cricket."

Buchanan says he does see a future for international 50-over cricket, but it needs some tinkering.

"When Packer revitalised the game through the 50-over format in the late '70s, it was a breath of fresh air for everybody," he said.

"But that format has continued to service the game for the last 30 years and there's no doubt that it does need change. I think if it doesn't change then it's on its way to extinction."

Buchanan notes that in the Twenty20 format, teams are based around cities, regions or franchises, whereas 50-over and Test matches are international competitions.

He sees that as a crucial difference that must be retained for 50-overs to survive.

"It will face extinction if administrators don't understand that they've actually got three separate products which they can bring to the market place and that you can cater for a whole range of different market segments," Buchanan said.

"The argument against it at the moment has been player workloads and how can players manage to cope with all those demands.

"That's where administrators need to carefully step in and work out all the scheduling, how that will all work, because I think it can work."

It does seem the administrators, like Cricket Australia spokesperson Phillip Pope, are taking notice.

Pope says there is still a lucrative market for the 50-over game despite the meteoric rise of Twenty20.

"Fifty-over cricket's been very good to the world of cricket. It is the format that the broadcasters have loved for the past 30 years and we believe will continue to enjoy loving," he said.

"Television viewers still love watching one-day international cricket. During a summer's afternoon, the majority of people watching television are watching one-day international cricket," he said.

"Internationally, the kind of sponsorships that you see coming into the International Cricket Council for events like the upcoming Championships Trophy and the World Cup, held in the Indian sub-continent in 2011, are massive and important for grass roots cricket all over the world.

"So cricket is in an enviable position in that it has a number of formats that complement one another, the newest of which is the Twenty20.

"But it's still fair to say that 50-over cricket is exceptionally successful, from a commercial point of view and in terms of interest in the game."