“ODIs should be World Cups only”: MCC President Mark Nicholas

Mark Nicholas wants the ODI format to be played exclusively in the World Cup in a bid to protect the format that is losing its importance.

London: The new president of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) Mark Nicholas wants the ODI format to be played exclusively in the World Cup in a bid to protect the format that is losing its importance and the rise of T20I format over the period of time.

Nicholas succeeded Stephen Fry as the president of cricket’s oldest and most prestigious members’ club talked about reducing the ODI bilateral series and told ESPNcricinfo, “We believe strongly that ODIs should be World Cups only. We think it’s difficult bilaterally now to justify them. They’re not filling grounds in a lot of countries. And there is a power at the moment to T20 cricket that is almost supernatural.”

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“It’s more than just ticket sales. It’s the amount of people that want to own franchises, the amount of countries that want to run tournaments, it’s the amount of players that want to be in a market all around the world. In a free market, the most money wins. And that’s just the end-game. The players can see that bubbling away and they want to be a part of it. So, it is an extraordinary power that T20 has, and I think scheduling 50-over cricket alongside it just continues the story of the death knell of the ODI game,” Nicholas added.

He further went on to add the amount of relevance MCC holds in this case and admitted that it is unlikely that they wil sway the International Cricket Council (ICC) decision.

“How much more relevant can MCC be? Is there a danger we’re losing our relevance in global cricket thinking? Can we use our World Cricket Committee better? Can we use our massive list of Honorary Life members, [which has] the outstanding players of the modern era and the era before on it,” Nicholas said.

“The problem at the moment is that the ICC see us a bit of a threat,” he said. “When we put our head above the parapet, they’re like ‘whoa, settle down, we run the game’. So we need to integrate better with ICC, we need to understand each other better. We need to develop thinking that comes together,” Nicholas added.

Meanwhile, the ODI World Cup is set to begin on October 5, with a repeat of the 2019 final clash between England and New Zealand.