They played favourites, now this!

A well played 50over match is a good game of cricket for both players and fans It allows enough time for a team to recover equilibrium if it makes an early mistake whilst also providing aggressive cricket and the players should feel theyrsquove earned their cheque after a decent amount of cricket However the administrators have diminished the game by greatly favouring the shorter T20 format Players are also guilty for allowing this to happenT20 and hitsThe T20 format attracts big crowds many of whom are new to the game The T20 franchises also accumulate income for teams and associations that desperately need the money There is no doubt the T20 format has assisted the game financially but it tends to attract too much favourable attention at the wilful expense of other formatsThere is a viable place for T20 but itrsquos exalted role in the overall structure of the game is disproportionate The 50over game has been reduced to virtually depending on a World Cup year for its importance That is what we have this yearmdasha tantalising World Cup in India Adding to the expected drama the draw includes a blockbuster match between those two fierce rivals India and Pakistan Back in 1996 in Toronto I joined a group of Indian and Pakistani players who were happily chatting together I was moved to ask ldquoWhy is there animosity between the two countriesmdashyou both seem to get on wellrdquo The answer was telling ldquoWe understand each other and eat similar foodrdquo replied a player ldquoThe people mostly get on well but itrsquos mainly the politicians who like to maintain the ragerdquo This was a sad but generally true reflection and unfortunately the situation has deteriorated since those daysThe limited overs World Cup began as a 60over affair back in 1975 The tournament ended with a brilliant late night victory for the West Indies over a fighting Australia This was exactly what the format needed and seemed to indicate that the limited overs game had gained universal popularity It became a 50over game but was eventually undermined by the T20 format The administrators shortsighted approach to 50over playing conditions their love affair with the financial benefits of T20 and the acquiescence of the players has seen the longer format largely reduced to World Cup popularityThe statement that rocked the 50over game ldquoThe middle overs are boringrdquo was believed by many peoplemdashincluding most administrators The desire to fight for greater 50over relevance wasnrsquot there and the rapid rise of the T20 game took priorityInstead of looking to inject thoughtful competitiveness into the 50 over game the administrators opted to utilise gimmicks Instead of dangling the carrot to challenge the imagination of captains and players the administrators opted to beat the game with a big stick That meant the introduction of gimmicks like powerplays fielding restrictions and shorter boundaries generally punishing bowlers which tended to dictate the way a team was captainedAs the former fine Australian captain Mark Taylor says ldquoYou are virtually told how to captain a 50over gamerdquo Those playing conditions were applied rather than the captains being challenged by offering them more freedom in their choice of how to play the gameA partial cap could have been retained in the maximum overs but two bowlers couldrsquove have been rewarded by allowing them an extended number of overs Any captain who prefers taking wickets to concentrating on containment should be encouraged not deterred And surely a teamrsquos approach to their batting is guided by the chase they face There were a number of ways the 50over game could have been thoughtfully improved to aid the experience for a player and the fans Unfortunately they werenrsquot adopted and the 50over game was allowed to witherODIs still popularItrsquos telling that the 50over World Cup still attracts large crowds Despite the lack of 50over positivity the 2023 version remains extremely popular especially as it features a mouthwatering India versus Pakistan fixture