The juggling act cricket boards attempt between the three formats appears to be a losing battle now as T20 cricket is pushed as the future of the game and Test cricket is protected.
Fifty-over cricket still ostensibly holds pride of place within the game as the format in which the flagship Cricket World Cup is contested.
Outside of that World Cup, though the format has become a throwaway in bilateral cricket.
In South Africa, the CSA board have even put the Proteas’ participation in said World Cup at risk because of a scheduling conflict between a Super League series in Australia and their planned marquee T20 franchise tournament.
Meanwhile, in England star allrounder and 2019 World Cup hero Ben Stokes has given up the format and fellow regular Moeen Ali believes ODI cricket is in danger of becoming irrelevant.
He said: “At the moment it’s not sustainable in my opinion. Something has to be done because I fear losing the 50-over format in a couple of years because it’s almost like the long, boring one, if that makes sense.
“It’s almost like you’ve got T20s, you’ve got the Test matches which are great and then the 50 overs is just in the middle – there’s no importance given to it at the moment.
“So yeah, I think there’s too much – personally I feel like there’s too much going on.
“It’s great in a way, because there’s always cricket being played, but it should never come in the way of international cricket in my opinion.”
The ICC have tried to ensure ODI cricket survives by opening it up to the associate members and also introducing the CWC Super League.
However, players are increasingly being called upon to make tough decisions and most will understandably seek to go where they are best looked after.
Cricket boards will need to be more accommodating of this while simultaneously finding ways to spark interest in ODI series.
Hardcore fans still love the format many grew up with but may see less and less of it as time goes by unless something changes.
