Cricket Australia Chief Opens Up on Future of Bilateral ODIs
Todd Greenberg, the CEO of Cricket Australia, has highlighted a fundamental dilemma in modern cricket administration: the need to prioritise bilateral one-day internationals while still protecting the television revenues that rely on them.
ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta made similar statements during a Cricket Australia staff meeting during a recent trip to Melbourne, according to Greenberg. “I think the principle of his comments is that the games that are played need to matter and have context and jeopardy.”
We firmly believe that. Greenberg, as quoted by Cricinfo, acknowledged that bilateral ODIs make up a significant portion of broadcast agreements. He emphasised the importance of finding a way to replace them and replace the associated revenues.
Some of it is short-term, while others are long-term. But the premise behind what he’s saying is correct. It is critical to incorporate both jeopardy and purpose into our games. But it’s not a simple problem,” he remarked.
In addition to the bilateral ODI issue, Greenberg has backed Australian coach Andrew McDonald’s call for larger squads for the 2027 ODI World Cup.
Greenberg also stated that CA supported the notion of introducing more Associate nations to the T20 World Cup while limiting the number of teams in the ODI World Cup.
“We have advocated forcefully. Andrew has made it obvious to me that this is a job he wants to hold. So we’ve forwarded that feedback to the ICC. So we’ve planned some discussions with them, and I believe a number of countries have indicated something similar, given the change, that squad sizes are crucial.
Greenberg stated that the topic is on their agenda. He did not provide any information beyond what was discussed at the ICC conference. I suppose it’s simply about extracting commercial benefit from those World Cups.
And I’ve seen some recent remarks indicating that some of the Associates are upset. I understand that. Hopefully, there will be a road for more Associates to consider the T20 World Cup rather than the ODI World Cup, which I believe is what the ICC want. This is how it was presented to us. “We would support that strategy,” he said.
