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Former Australian cricket team batter Aaron Finch believes that ODI matches should be reduced to 40 overs a side in order to bring back interest to the format. In the recent times, a lot of questions have been asked about the relevance of the format with the growing popularity of T20s. In a recent discussion, Finch said that teams bowl 11 or 12 overs per hour in ODI matches and the slow over rate has resulted in spectators losing interest. He added that there is a chance that the cricket fans may end up calling ODI games a ‘glorified T20’ and as a result, a 40-over format may be beneficial for the future.
“I think it goes to 40 overs, I’d love to see that,” Finch said on ESPNcricinfo. “In England, they used to have the pro-40 and that was a huge competition. I think the game’s gone too long, in my opinion. The speed that the teams bowl their 50 overs is so slow, it’s down around 11 or 12 overs/hour and that’s not acceptable. People will argue that maybe it’s a glorified T20 game but it’s about the crowds.”
However, former Australia cricketer Callum Ferguson was not convinced regarding the suggestion but added that a 40-over format may end up being beneficial for weaker teams.
“I am not quite sold on that for every series. I think when you’ve got the big dogs all playing against each other, I still think the 50-over game’s electric, and the ebbs and flows are wonderful but when they are so one-sided, when you’ve got the West Indies… who are trying to fight their way back into the World Cup, they are so off the track, I think 40 overs might suit that type of series, it might bring them closer together,” he said in the same interaction.
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