Boring World Cup proves ODI cricket is past its sell-by date

I am trying to recall a more boring sporting event in recent times than the cricket World Cup.

Sure, there have been some fine individual performances but barring two or three close matches, the games have been as exciting as watching water boil.

Here are some fun facts:

- Average margin of victory for teams that won batting first so far (up to 11 March) is 107.95 runs.

- Average margin of victory for teams that won batting second so far (up to 11 March) is 4.92 wickets.

These numbers are startling to say the least. Why do fans watch a sport?

1. To support their team. 2) To watch individual brilliance. 3) To watch close encounters/rivalries .

The first one will always be part of any sporting event. The second is something we are seeing more with the bat than the ball. And as the rules continue to favor batsmen, that trend will continue. The third has not existed in this tournament and that is where the major problem lies.

Individual performances are great to watch. But an overdose kills the thrill. You always want to watch an AB de Villiers innings but for how long? Right now there are a few players who can play those knocks. AB, Brendon McCulllum, Glen Maxwell, Chris Gayle and may be one or two more. In five years there will be 20 such guys and in 10 years there will be even more. The game is going in that direction.

To keep fans coming back you have to have close contests. Especially, in a format that takes up eight hours of your day. You could probably turn off the television about 10 to 15 overs in to the second innings of the match because the result is a foregone conclusion. By that calculation you really need to only watch about 60 percent of the match. May be even less on occasions.

One might argue that it is the “minnow” teams that are tilting the averages. But that is not the case. India beat South Africa and Pakistan by 130 and 76 runs respectively. Sri Lanka beat England by nine wickets. All three were supremely boring matches. So don’t blame UAE or Scotland. Removing them will change the numbers, but not by much.

The bottom line is that One Day cricket is becoming boring. It is too long and too dull. I can remember more exciting Test matches in the past two years than exciting one-day matches. The format is dated for the modern era. If the ICC wants to keep it alive for sentimental reasons then so be it, but the future is in Test cricket and T20 cricket.

The ICC has the job of preserving and more importantly growing the game of cricket. It isn’t doing a great job. Upcoming teams come and go with every tournament and no consistent new country has come up. We keep lauding the performances of some of these teams (Ireland, Afghanistan) but who knows where they will be in a few years. Kenya reached the semi finals at the 2003 World Cup and they aren’t even playing in 2015.

If we are to achieve what Sachin Tendulkar suggested - a 25 team World Cup - then it must be a 25-team World T20 tournament, not an ODI tournament. It is the only realistic way to expand the game of cricket.

If you are growing a game you need the new country’s fans to develop and enjoy watching the game. It is a lot easier for new fans to buy into a three-hour format vs. eight hours. No one wants to sit for eight hours and watch a game they barely understand.

The T20 format is such where a so-called Minnow Team can beat a powerhouse on a regular basis. A fan is more likely to get hooked to a sport if his team has a chance of winning. Therefore make the game more competitive and exciting to watch.

At the same time the best format of the game, Test Cricket, must be preserved.

The ICC should focus on T20 expansion to build interest in the game worldwide. ODI’s are not the way.

Test cricket remains the finest format. Efforts however must be made to increase the number beyond ten teams over the next 10-15 years. Play no more than three ODIs on any tour. Restrict the 50-over World Cup to eight teams in a knock out format and kill the Champions trophy.

Now I should get back to watching South Africa beat UAE by a million runs. But what’s the point?