Jonty Rhodes Predicts Decline in Bilateral ODIs Ahead

According to Jonty Rhodes, one-day cricket is in jeopardy, and bilateral ODI series will be pushed to the brink, but the 50-over World Cup will remain relevant.

At the jersey presentation in Mumbai of ETPL’s Rotterdam Dockers franchise, of which Rhodes is a co-owner, Rhodes stated, “When T20 cricket first started, people were saying, well, it’s going to put pressure on Test cricket.” And, miraculously, it hasn’t.

“But for me, it was always clear that 50-over cricket might be the one format where, because we bring in such a new crowd and a different viewpoint to the game, it might be in peril in the coming years.

“So I believe there is still plenty of opportunity, and playing in a cricket World Cup, whether T20 or 50-over, is an intriguing prospect. So, at this point, I believe there will be less and fewer bilateral series that include a lot of 50-over cricket, but it is tough to imagine cricket without the 50-over version.”

South Africa will host the next ODI World Cup, and Rhodes stated the country is excited to welcome the world and hopes to win the trophy. The Proteas are the reigning World Test champions, but they have never won an ICC white-ball championship.

“We as a nation, from the 2010 Football World Cup, the 1995 Rugby World Cup, the 2007 T20 World Cup—there was a team that won that in 2007, what a terrific team!—I think everybody who’s been to South Africa to follow cricket has had a great time. So, as South Africans, we’re looking forward to hosting it.

“I believe that the World Cup cricket tournament is such a great occasion that everyone who attends will have a good time. However, as a South African hosting team, I believe there are a few issues that we would like to resolve. And one of them is undoubtedly winning an ICC limited-overs trophy.”