Cricket is a fascinating sport – one of the rare kinds that runs in three concurrent forms.
Test matches, the format with which the game debuted in 1877, has refined itself with time. Timeless Tests made way for six-day matches (with a break in between!) and to the modern five-day version. There are diehard fans of this format which can produce tension like no other, but it also appeals the least to the younger audiences.
In the 1970s, the one-day format came along. Revolutionary at the time, to have a result in just one day of cricket, this has also refined itself with 60 overs an innings making way to 50 overs.
We saw the introduction of the white ball, coloured clothing, floodlit night-time viewing. And with it came the World Cup, the first in the history of the sport, a multi-team tournament played over a month to determine a winner. Football did this in the 1930s and cricket, though four decades late, had found a way to find a world champion.
But ODIs still ran for eight hours. And when Twenty20 debuted in the mid 2000s, and took off by the end of that decade, administrators realised cricket had a format too many.
Surely Test cricket was meant to be on the way out. Obituaries were written on the Test version, writers hypothesising a final send-off to Test cricket with Australia vs England in the 2020s.
However, people had underestimated the prestige of playing Test cricket. Players weren’t ready to say goodbye, and fans slowly realised if they get two decent teams on decent tracks and introduce relevance to every bilateral by starting a World Test championship, the format can survive.
Since T20s began, Test cricket every year or so has had a memorable contest, such as India’s dual triumphs in Australia, or the 2005 Ashes which have become folklore.
But dig deeper and you’ll find South Africa’s triumph in Australia in 2009-09 which the Proteas won 2-1 (the first team in 15 years to win Down Under), or Sri Lanka’s historic 1-0 series win in England in 2014, or England winning in India in 2012-13 or recently, New Zealand triumphing 3-0 in India.
Australia’s recapture of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy or India’s fascinating fightback to draw the Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy in England, both happened in the last 12 months. Test cricket is going nowhere.
This meant ODI cricket got caught in the mess of multiple formats – the number of games have certainly declined, the crowds as well.
Beth Mooney. (Photo by Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)
For the younger generation, it’s too long and for the older one, it doesn’t have the prestige of Tests. But there’s one place ODI cricket still shines and reminds us why the format was so popular in the first place – World Cups.
The men’s ODI World Cup two years ago, saw India dominate in home conditions, only to run into a resurgent Australia in the final. And a shock result elevated the tournament to greater heights. Now, as we enter the pointy end of the women’s World Cup in 2025, ODI cricket is shining again and it’s worth exploring why.
Women’s cricket is evolving pretty quickly, buoyed by more visibility, better broadcast deals, facilities and above all money.
Fan interest is rising in more countries with how their women’s teams fare, and while Australia still rules, their dominance has been challenged. Teams are more competitive compared to a decade back, and big examples include West Indies and New Zealand winning their maiden T20 World Cups. Numerous women’s franchise leagues have cropped up, including in heavyweights Australia, India and England but also in New Zealand and West Indies.
One of the major criticisms of men’s ODIs has been that the game has slowly become a longer T20 and the competitiveness between bat and ball has been diminishing. Ardent fans of women’s ODIs will notice that the women’s ODI version is quite reminiscent of the men’s 2000s ODI era.
Teams rarely get to 300 and 250+ is considered a good score. The competitiveness is picking up and we’re seeing a much more balanced game. The Women’s World Cup has been a great example.
The women’s tournament started with hosts India troubled by Sri Lanka in a rain-affected game. The men’s version between these two countries saw a 302 run win by India in 2023.
Bangladesh women got England 6-103 chasing 182, but the men’s game had England score 364 and win by 137 runs.
Similarly, Australia women were 7-76 vs Pakistan but the men’s side had scored 367 and had won comfortably. Again, Pakistan women got England 7-78 but their men counterparts had conceded 337 to England in 2023 losing comfortably.
Continuing with the trend, Indian women lost to South Africa in a close game, but the men’s game two years ago, saw India win by 243 runs or SA women winning in the final over vs Bangladesh, but the SA men team scored 382 vs Bangladesh men in the ‘23 World Cup.
Beth Mooney and Alyssa Healy. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
The women’s ODI world cup is producing far closer matches. Think of your top criticisms with One Day Internationals which aren’t linked to duration, and nearly every one of them is addressed by the women’s version right now.
If looking for upsets, Bangladesh beat Pakistan and South Africa humbled by England and were dismissed for just 69. If you miss close chases, look no further than Nadine de Clark taking South Africa home against India with seven balls to spare, or vs Bangladesh with three balls to spare.
If you prefer records tumbling, Australia chased down 330, the highest run chase in women’s cricket, vs India.
This women’s World Cup has it all – the biggest qualm of it being the rain, which probably denied Pakistan an upset win over England. Australia are Australising (like they do in a World Cup), but all three spots below them are quite open – with South Africa, England, New Zealand and India in the mix.
The ball has spun and moved, credit to India and Sri Lanka for producing good tracks. Teams have struggled at times with the bat. But this is where ODI cricket shines over T20s. Beth Mooney vs Pakistan was afforded the time to perform a historic rescue act, turning defeat into victory.
Heather Knight’s winning performance against Bangladesh wouldn’t have been possible had she not been afforded the luxury of spending time out in the middle and stabilising the innings.
The best thing to come out of this World Cup is that it reinforces the love for the 50-over format. It’s riveting, the standard of the games have been exemplary and it’s a throwback to all that we loved in the men’s format.
NamanMehrahttps://https://ift.tt/dKx7Q1U 50-Over revival: Why women’s cricket is taking us back to the golden era of ODIs
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