Undercooked?
Over the last 4 years in between World Cups it looks as though the One day format of 50 overs has been neglected by every country and why we are seeing such a bag of mixed results.
The Cricket World Cup being held in India is winding it's way to the semi final stages with a handful of games left before that happens. What has been very noticeable is how many of the favorite teams have under performed losing games they would normally be expected to win. The lack of preparation and planning for this event is clear to see and this has to change for the next World Cup in 2027.
England the defending Champions from 2019 have had a shocking tournament even though they have a balanced team that hasn't had many changes over the last few years. The conditions are the same for all the teams so that is not an excuse as everyone knew what types of pitches to expect.
The only difference from 2019 is how much more T20 cricket is played compared to the one day 50 over format. 20 years ago the 50 over game was the most popular event and that has now been surpassed by the T20 format being 20 overs. There seems to be less and less 50 over day games being played which is not surprising to se certain teams falling away.
When England won the 2019 World Cup they had played 88 one day 50 over games which was a decent build up to winning the World Cup. The number of games played between 2019 and 2023 has only been 36 which is 52 games less and not a surprise why players are struggling with this format.
The players have to be in tune with the middle overs between 15 and 40 overs managing the run rate required. In the T20 format there is no need to manage this as it is over so quickly and no time to play yourself in so it is hitting out from ball one.
Every team has played less one day cricket compared to the last 4 year build up and only India have dropped ever so slightly having completed 66 matches. England's difference of 52 matches less plus the other teams also down by more than half shows where the importance lies and where the money is being spent. The teams have definitely neglected this World Cup and has now given them food for thought if they want to compete next time around.
The likes of Afghanistan and the Netherlands have come into serious contention due to the dropped standards by the bigger teams. This should never be the case as maybe one upset could be possible but this time we have seen so many already. England who have already been knocked out were one of the favorites and have only managed to win one game out of 7 games whilst Afghanistan has won 4.
India out in front unbeaten is and was expected due to playing at home in their own conditions. Home advantage in the sub continent is a massive advantage, but they also have played nearly double the number of matches in the 50 over format compared to the other teams.
There has been an argument in the past that players who play Test Cricket ( 5 day game) should be different to those that play 50 over cricket and justifiably so. I would ay that there is an argument for a difference ins election from T20 and the 50 over game due to the subtle differences and mindset required. The bowing and batting skills are so different for each format with players having to play differently.
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I just think that on the 1st team efforts and practice matters than luck is all about we have. Hope for the best
And for England it’s not just ODIs that have been neglected, domestic 50 over cricket has become a second rate format due to the way it’s scheduled.
The last couple of years the 50 over tournament takes place at the same time as the Hundred so any half decent white ball cricketer is drafted into that league leaving only 2nd XI players or guys who quite frankly shouldn’t be anywhere near a white ball team playing the 50 over tournaments.
Take for example my local county Surrey who this year resorted to playing guys like Dom Sibley and Rory Burns in the 50 over team! It’s a bit of a joke!
And to think Surrey used to be a good team not that long ago. Rory Burns would be a joke playing limited over cricket. they got it badly wrong this tie around like many teams have. SA is not strong and have many weaknesses which were highlighted against India but may get a second bite at them and it could be different next time. Who knows what to expect but I am sure the Indian team will get a turning wicket.
Surrey are still a good team. They've won the County Championship the last 2 years and resource wise they are better equipped than any other county to compete on all fronts. so if Surrey are poor in the 50 over format, you can imagine how bad some of the other teams are! It really is a low standard of cricket.
India should win. The burden of expectation is the only thing you'd imagine could go against them. Whoever they get in the semis and then ultimately the final can play with far less pressure.
SA have got enough match winners to beat anyone on the day. They just needed some of that winning mentality from the rugby team!
The Wankhede in Mumbai (where India play their semi) won’t spin much. In fact, that’s probably the surface that most non-subcontinent teams would pick to play India on.
That's exactly how we're looking at the World Cup, we're getting to see a lot of special and interesting things. The World Cup is back in the race and we hope that Pakistan will definitely go to the semi-finals because the last match we saw New Zealand's batting in a good way is running