England skipper Andrew Strauss has warned that banishing 50-over cricket from the country's domestic schedule could have dire consequences for the team's World Cup campaigns.
The England and Wales cricket board decided to axe 50-over cricket for a shortened 40-over format from next season.
Strauss said domestic cricket should mirror internationals, and believes one-dayers will survive in the face of mounting pressure from Twenty20s.
"Forty-over cricket is not radically different from 50-over cricket, but it just seems sensible to me that if you're playing 50-over cricket internationally and your domestic scene is a way of preparing people for international cricket, you should be playing the same game," The Age quoted Strauss, as saying.
"At the moment, there is a future to 50-over cricket. There are no plans that I've heard of to get rid of it. My personal view is that domestic cricket should mirror international cricket, so in that respect, playing 40-over cricket is not ideal," he added.
South Africa had already reduced its domestic competition to 45 overs, and when the England and Wales Cricket Board voted last week to eradicate the 50-over game it was received as a further nail in the coffin for one-day internationals, which have struggled for identity and prominence in an increasingly crowded schedule.
