The ICC has recently approved a six-match T20 series between Australia and Pakistan, most likely to be held from August 22 to September 8 in the United Arab Emirates.
This will be the longest ever international T20 series. For all the talk that less international cricket should be played, the sanctity of Test cricket be protected and equal space found for One Day International cricket, none of this matters when national boards look at the books and wonder where their next meal is coming from.
The 2011 World Cup in India was a commercial success, especially with the home nation riding to the title, but otherwise ODI cricket appears meaningless when taken in isolation.
With the World T20 held every two years and the best Test side being a constant ebb and flow (the bona fide Test championship is still years away) given the drawn out nature of the great game, ODIs’ four-year wait for a meaningful tournament (Champions Trophy? The ICC didn’t need it as soon as T20 came to the party and wisely scrapped it) appears draconian when compared to its younger and shorter cousin.
If a six-match series has been let through the gate, this shall pave the way for other long T20 series between the Test nations to become the norm. And with T20 games more likely to sell better from a ticket sales and advertising point of view than ODI cricket in the future and presently, the money that keeps ODI cricket afloat could – and most likely will – eventually dry up until it no longer becomes economically viable.
Its death and decline will be slow and drawn out, since too many people have too much to lose along with TV deals needing to expire, but it appears ODI cricket’s days are numbered.
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