Check out the highlights of the ODI series between Australia and the West Indies. World Cricket Watch will have highlights of all five games in the series.

5th ODI

It was interesting to read today that the local broadcaster of cricket in Australia, Channel 9, has suffered a 40% drop in viewers in their first week of ratings, primarily due to their coverage of the current ODI series. The report indicated that viewers were largely staying away from the series, though large numbers had tuned in to the recent T20 between Australia and Pakistan.

There could be many reasons for this, but the current hot topic in Australia is the apparent death of the ODI format. Crowd numbers have been very low to ODI’s this summer, and now the television ratings are also reflecting this trend. Last week, Shane Warne again called for the end of the ODI format, and reports also suggest that TV executives may want a say in what games are played.

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See the highlights of the ODI series between New Zealand and Bangladesh on World Cricket Watch.

Second ODI

I saw an interesting segment on TV last night featuring a panel discussion led by Brendan Julian, and featuring Allan Border, Mark Waugh, Greg Blewett and former Australian fast bowler Rodney Hogg. Now, Hogg is known for his forthright views, and generally tells like it is, he certainly has an Australian bias, but yet he is very willing to criticise tactics or particular players in the team, which other so called experts are not willing to do.

The most interesting part of the discussion was when the panel questioned Hogg on his thoughts about the effect of T20 on ODI’s. Hogg was true to form, and immediately offered his opinion that the 50 over format is dead in the water. The others on the panel didn’t really support him on this, but they do have vested interests, as they are all employed by Fox Sports, which covers domestic 50 over cricket. However, they did acknowledge that the game was at the crossroads.

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