Champions Trophy will prove ODIs can survive: Lorgat

Dubai:

Amid growing concerns about one-day cricket's future, ICC CEO Haroon Lorgat has said the upcoming Champions Trophy will prove there is enough space for the 50-over format as it battles the Twenty20 onslaught.

"In the context of 50-over cricket this is an important tournament," Lorgat said.

"It reminds me of a year ago when people were talking about the death of Test cricket, with no crowds being there and so on. Similarly with the ODIs, I think we are maybe running ahead of ourselves.

"Look at England where there is a lot of interest still in the ODI series despite England being so far behind Australia, crowds are still turning up. Similarly in the recent tri-series in Sri Lanka. We will see here, with the Champions Trophy, that there is a place for the ODI format in cricket," he added.

Eight nations will compete in the Champions Trophy which begins September 22 in Johannesburg, amid increasing speculation that the format will not survive.

England has already scrapped its domestic 50-over tournament and according to the ICC's cricket manager Dave Richardson, South Africa is also toying with the idea of a four-innings format domestically.

Many former and current cricketers have also come out with different formulae to save the game. Indian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar has suggested breaking the ODIs into four innings of 25 overs each.

Anil Kumble and Dean Jones have also given their respective suggestions and although the ICC has agreed to make minor innovations, Lorgat ruled out any wholesome change in the format until the cricket committee gets together next May.

"From an innovations point of view, we're always looking for new, exciting things. The batting Powerplay is a good example but we do not want to do too many things too quickly.

"Between the Champions Trophy and the 2011 World Cup, we are more in the mindset of retaining the format. Experts are in place on the cricket committee but I think we can leave it till next May," Lorgat told a cricket website.

Lorgat said this edition of the Champions Trophy would be more streamlined and refreshing, which will reimpose faith on the one-day version of the game.

"We recognised that the tournament needed a bit of refreshing and relevance to ensure that it is a best of the best. We have made it a destination event where teams and everyone can settle in at one location for the whole event beginning to end and there is no routine of practice, play and fly again," he said.

"There is also greater prize money at stake and the lesser number of teams means most games will have something at stake. "There is differentiation in this Champions Trophy and we are confident that we will see ODI cricket as a relevant format through this," Lorgat added.