Aaron Finch suggests major change to ODI format

Former Australia captain Aaron Finch wants major changes to the ODI format to bring people back to the stadium. With the emergence of various franchise leagues in the world, ODI cricket has lost its charm, and the impact was spotted during the non-India games in the ODI World Cup 2023. As per Finch, the duration of a match is too long as he added that the bowlers take an hour to complete 10-12 overs, which is not acceptable according to him.

The former cricketer wants to tweak the format and introduce 40-over matches. He cited the example of England’s NatWest Pro40 League and wants the International Cricket Council (ICC) to consider it for protecting ODI cricket.

“I think it goes to 40 overs, I’d love to see that in England, they used to have the pro-40 and that was a huge competition. I think the game’s gone too long, in my opinion. The speed at which the teams bowl their 50 overs is so slow, it’s down around 11 or 12 overs/hour and that’s not acceptable. People will argue that maybe it’s a glorified T20 game but it’s about the crowds,” Finch told ESPNcricinfo.

I still think the 50-over game’s electric: Callum Ferguson

Former cricketer Callum Ferguson, however, countered Finch’s suggestion and stated that the 50 overs cricket is still electric and added that Finch’s idea can be implemented in matches between lower-ranked teams. 

“I am not quite sold on that for every series. I think when you’ve got the big dogs all playing against each other, I still think the 50-over game’s electric, and the ebbs and flows are wonderful but when they are so one-sided, when you’ve got the West Indies… who are trying to fight their way back into the World Cup, they are so off the track, I think 40 overs might suit that type of series, it might bring them closer together,” Ferguson said.

Meanwhile, legendary cricketer, Sachin Tendulkar suggested something along similar lines when he suggested that 40-over matches can be divided into four halves, just like Test cricket.