Mark Waugh Sees ODI Cricket 'Phasing Out' Beyond Major Tournaments
As Australia grapples with a tight international schedule, cricket legend Mark Waugh foresees a future where One-Day International (ODI) cricket is largely reserved for major tournaments like the ICC World Cup and Champions Trophy. Waugh, reflecting on Australia's recent 1-2 ODI series loss to Pakistan with a second-string side, has voiced a realistic yet bittersweet prediction: that the traditional 50-over format may be squeezed out in favour of the shorter T20 format and Test matches outside of high-stakes competitions.
The Australian side, missing star Test players Pat Cummins, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood, struggled in the absence of its senior players. After Cummins' heroics in the first ODI helped clinch a close win, his subsequent rest, along with other Test stars, left an inexperienced lineup that suffered back-to-back crushing losses, marked by poor batting display's which saw the WC winners being dismissed for just 163 and 140 runs respectively in the second and third ODI respectively.
It was Australia's first ODI home series defeat to Pakistan since 2002, and the performance spurred cricket commentators Ian Healy and Michael Clarke to suggest that Cricket Australia may be losing interest in low-stakes bilateral series.
For Waugh, one of Australia's greatest ODI players with 18 international centuries, the format's dilution through bilateral series has become apparent.
"I think you're spot on. The World Cup and the Champions Trophies are still great events. The last World Cup in India was an amazing tournament, not just because Australia won. I still think it's a fantastic tournament and it's a great format because it combines a bit of T20 and Test match cricket in the