New Zealand Cricket: Former Australia captain Ian Chappell said he fears for the future of the 50-over format due to the attitude of the administrators. His comments come after the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy would be contested for T20Is for the first time through the upcoming series between Australia and New Zealand, starting in Wellington on Wednesday.
Since its inception in 2004, the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy was always for ODIs between Australia and New Zealand. Statements from Cricket Australia (CA) and New Zealand Cricket (NZC) said a points system will also be used for future back-to-back ODI and T20I series between the Trans-Tasman rivals.
“They certainly have T20 cricket at the top of the pole, and there’s more and more T20 cricket being played and less and less 50-over cricket. Anyone who thinks T20 is a better game than the 50-over game is off their rocker. The administrators have let 50-over cricket go, and I think they’ve let it go to the point where they may not be able to resurrect it,” said Chappell on Wide World of Sports (WWOS).
Australia are the current holders of the Chappell-Hadlee trophy, which was last contested for three ODIs in Cairns in September 2022. Chappell is also not convinced the 50-over format can ever regain the popularity it once held previously.
“I’d like to think that you’ll get good crowds at the 50-over game because it’s a very good game of cricket – the next best thing to a Test match. But it’s not in the mind of the administrators at the moment, and whether you can turn the clock back, I’m not so sure.”
“I don’t see the World Cup going up in smoke – it’s too important and it’s still pretty well attended. But if you’re going to have the World Cup, you’ve got to have the players playing some matches. But will it have the importance that it used to have? I’m very doubtful.”
Chappell also feels that the popularity of T20s and more recently, of T10 cricket, also present a huge threat to the game. “As a cricketer, I want to walk off the field at the end of the day’s play thinking I’ve earned my beer. I don’t think if I played a 20-over game and I faced four balls, that I would walk off the field thinking I’ve earnt my beer.”
“There are T20 leagues popping up everywhere, and now you’ve got a few T10 leagues … what are you going to do if the crowd get bored with T20? Are you going to cut it back to T10 and then T5? How are you going to play a T5 game, walk off the field, and think you’ve earned your beer?”
