WC 2015: Cricket Australia is still not hopeful about one-dayers, says report

Bengaluru, Feb 18: Organisers of the 2015 World Cup are excited about the success the tournament has seen over the first few days. The attendance in the New Zealand-Sri Lanka, Australia-England, India-Pakistan matches were satisfactory and a high turn-out is also expected for the India-South Africa match scheduled on February 22.

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The organisers are also using footage of the India-Pakistan match for campaigning more for the quadrennial tournament. One might feel that one-day cricket is witnessing a rebirth in the land where the first one-day match was played in 1971 and where Kerry Packer's innovative cricket brought a dimension to the game.

But according to a report published in Bengali daily Anandabazar Patrika, the scenario doesn't reflect the reality.

In a report published on Wednesday, the veteran journalist said Cricket Australia feels that one-day cricket can be given a fresh new lease of life in their country any more.

That's why the cricket board is now appealing to the customer base so that the sagging fortunes of 50-over cricket can be revived.

The biggest complain of the spectator against one-day cricket is that it is time-consuming and even the game is not broad-based like football. Then why should people buy tickets to watch the game, Bhattacharya said in his report.

Cricket Australia Strategic Manager Alex Watt, who once was a spin bowler and played along with the legendary Shane Warne, expressed his worry over the declining interest on one-day and felt that a renewed interest on a multi-country affair like the World Cup could have an adverse effect on bilateral one-day tournaments held in Australia, the ABP report said.

CA authorities are set to meet over the future of one-day cricket in Australia next week. There, the decision could be finalised on reducing the number of one-day matches, said the ABP report.

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