Cricket Australia's attempt to change the 50-over ODI format by introducing a new 40-over competition has received a setback following the International Cricket Council's approval for the existing format for the 2015 World Cup.
Having canvassed the views of players, sponsors, media and fans, CA had proposed a new 40-over competition, in which teams would bat for two innings of 20 overs each. Should the plan win board approval, CA hopes the model will be taken up globally.
"One of the thoughts was the potential for one-day cricket to be split into two innings, and a big advantage, the public tell us, is that after work they are guaranteed the chance of seeing Australia bat. The feedback was that one-day cricket needs refreshing," a spokesman said.
CA is worried that interest in one-day cricket will wane to the point of irrelevance by the time it hosts the 2015 World Cup with New Zealand, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.
However, the ICC is locked into a 50-over World Cup under its contract with ESPN-Star Sports, which runs until 2015, and its other commercial partners.
The ICC's cricket committee, which met at Lord's last month, is investigating how to ensure one-day internationals retain meaning and competitiveness through a proposed global league with a promotion and relegation system.
"The ICC is committed to the three forms of the game, being Test cricket, 50-over cricket and Twenty20 cricket, and we have a working party of eminent chief executives set up to look at the context and content of international cricket," an ICC spokesman said.
It is believed a 25-over split as proposed by master blaster Sachin Tendulkar is more likely to win favour because TV networks are reluctant to shorten games and sacrifice advertising slots.
