ALL cricket should be limited overs cricket!

[Islandman]

Its time the cricketing world face up to the reality that cricket played over unlimited overs for 5 days with two innings is obsolete and mostly a waste of time.

This is not to say all cricket has to be single innings and finished in a day, but why not make some changes which will allow more matches in the longer format of the game to be competitive?

Simple solution....two innings, 75 overs each. That way the game will be easily completed within 3 days, say Friday-Sunday. The Friday session can have a day-night schedule in venues where that is possible, and then regular all day sessions for Saturday and Sunday. This way cricket fans would actually be able to (gasp) , watch or attend the whole game! It would also prevent the result of a game from ending in a predictable and tame draw after a day and a half when some ground staff has prepared a dead wicket where the bowlers have no assistance. Lets not even talk about rain totally killing a game by taking away some portion of the 4 or 5 days.

I am sure the purists will not want to call it Test cricket so call it 2 innings cricket or something more appealing than that. Point being, two 75 over innings is more than enough time for batsmen to take their time and settle in for a good, solid innings, but without having the freedom to plod around with boring defensive strokes all day because the length of the innings has a limit.


If something like this does not happen I really don't see the two innings format surviving outside of a few niche markets. If England and Australia want to play each other for the Ashes every year then let them continue to do so, but other cricket playing countries should not be forced to continue to play a format that virtually nobody else is interested in watching.

[Sir X]

A waste of time ,time is money , a waste of money , more important !


Thats the reality.

[Mosiah]

Simple solution....two innings, 75 overs each. That way the game will be easily completed within 3 days, say Friday-Sunday. The Friday session can have a day-night schedule in venues where that is possible, and then regular all day sessions for Saturday and Sunday. This way cricket fans would actually be able to (gasp) , watch or attend the whole game!

NO!

Even golf is really over two days even though they carry over the scored from the first two days.

The thing is, golf is under no threat of extinction, as is test cricket. We can find other sports that span a few days, but they, are far as I know, are still relevant and exciting over that period. Test cricket's uncertainty is what makes it irrelevant. Will it be over in three days or four? Will it be a boring draw after all of this?

Get rid of test cricket with exceptions made for the Ashes or other competitions stuck in tradition and the 20th century.

It will be sad to see the classic stroke makers wither away to make room for the yam hitters. Oh well!

[Islandman]

I think there is a market for two innings limited overs cricket played over 3 days.

West Indies would likely be a minor player if they have an international team at all , but other than AUS and ENG, there is the Indian sub continent where the most passionate cricket fans are. I suspect that India, Pakistan, Bangladesh would watch and enjoy this type of format, probably South African fans as well.

[Sir X]

Our reality in the Caribbean is,if its not 20/20 its a waste of time ,I.e money, meaning dead.

Some nations can afford it,that's the reality,the haves and the have nots ,that's the disjointedness of crickets reality.

The poorer nations can't afford ,the long drawn out test format.

[Mosiah]

Well, I guess you can't force any country from playing whatever they want. Aussie rules football is really only played in Australia professionally. So if the Indian subcontinent wants to continue with the farce, good luck to them!

But we shouldn't waste our time and our money with these boring and irrelevant formats.

[Peter R]

Just a minor "correction"... there is a par number of overs in test, i.e. 90 overs a day. In that way, a team can't try to slow down the over rate, let's say, if they're bowling and that suits them... similarly prevents the the batting side from also slowing down the rate.

Test cricket will probably fade away into history, or take on some format that will suit the current dispensation as you've suggested. Who knows? Certainly, playing under lights is one way to bring the fans back to the stands, although that will have its own impact on how the game is played.

The thing is that cricket is in competition with itself; T20 v OD(I) v Test, and it is clear that T20 is winning the race on all counts. I have been to a ODI and literally fallen asleep... that would never happen in a T20.

Where Test loses out is that there is no test WC or overall trophy, simply somewhat meaningless head to head matches that, at the end of the day, are unfulfilling for the fans. ANother strategy to bring fans back is if they were to structure a rolling three year test competition where all the test playing nations play each other a home and away series an equally number of matches, that might help to resuscitate the test version somewhat. But honestly, that, IMO would just be throwing a lifeline. As it is, this internal competition between the formats has created a nightmare on the annual calendar.

Only time will tell really, but money talks...

[Islandman]

Yes the poor nations will likely have to give up longer formats in terms of international competition, as they have no economic base to sustain it. Players from those regions could still play the longer format in the professional leagues if they wish, as do footballers from all over the world today.

The reality is that the West Indies doesn't really have any power in international cricket, other than the exciting players it produces. In the end it will be the money and fans of the Big Three nations of cricket which will determine which formats of the game will survive.

[Gamma]

I think that 2 innings limited overs thing is being experimented with if I'm not mistaken

[Islandman]

Didn't hear about that at all, will have to check into it .

[Gamma]

I seem to recall having read it in an article that spoke about the innovations that are taking place in Aussie academies including ambidextrous batsman and bowlers ....

[Muadib]

Rath.. Di Agenda ah invade Cricket now ??!

Would be Australia.. dat is a known haven fi dem !

[Gamma]

Nuh uh preach seh resistance is futile?!!

[Reggaedoc]

Just a minor "correction"... there is a par number of overs in test, i.e. 90 overs a day. In that way, a team can't try to slow down the over rate, let's say, if they're bowling and that suits them... similarly prevents the the batting side from also slowing down the rate.

Test cricket will probably fade away into history, or take on some format that will suit the current dispensation as you've suggested. Who knows? Certainly, playing under lights is one way to bring the fans back to the stands, although that will have its own impact on how the game is played.

The thing is that cricket is in competition with itself; T20 v OD(I) v Test, and it is clear that T20 is winning the race on all counts. I have been to a ODI and literally fallen asleep... that would never happen in a T20.

Where Test loses out is that there is no test WC or overall trophy, simply somewhat meaningless head to head matches that, at the end of the day, are unfulfilling for the fans. ANother strategy to bring fans back is if they were to structure a rolling three year test competition where all the test playing nations play each other a home and away series an equally number of matches, that might help to resuscitate the test version somewhat. But honestly, that, IMO would just be throwing a lifeline. As it is, this internal competition between the formats has created a nightmare on the annual calendar.

Only time will tell really, but money talks...

Yep. Time to get rid of test cricket as currently configured. Btw, they got rid of 8-ball overs which used to be the standard in Australia.