3 reasons why Aaron Finch's idea of 40-over ODIs is great
Former Australian captain Aaron Finch recently opined that One-Day cricket should now be a 40-over affair and not a 50-over one in a conversation with ESPN Cricinfo. He cited the example of the successful Pro-40 or the ECB40, the very successful 40-over domestic tournament in England, to back his claims.
Talks about reducing and revamping ODI cricket isn't new, with lots of fans also feeling the same way regarding the length of the game.
On that note, let's look at three reasons why Aaron Finch's proposition of 40-over ODIs is great.
#3 More chances of lower-ranked teams winning matches
The longer the format, the harder it is for teams like the Netherlands, Afghanistan, Ireland, Zimbabwe, and other associate teams to win matches against the more established nations. While some of these teams have come a long way to become really competitive even in the 50-over format, a 40-over game would be even better in raising their chances of a victory.
Cricket lives for these sort of success stories, with the entire cricketing world celebrating Afghanistan's run in the 2023 Men's ODI World Cup as well as the Netherlands' wins against England and South Africa in the same tournament. We could have more such instances if the number of overs in a match is reduced as such formats require teams to be consistently good for a lesser period of overs.
#2 Makes the game more balanced between attacking and pragmatic cricket
The general trend in 50-over matches is to advocate playing one's shots in the powerplay and at the death, leaving the 30-over middle period in which teams' approach changes based on the venue and the opponent.
Usually, batting sides slow down, sometimes drastically, in the middle overs, where very few boundaries are scored. The fact that this lasts as long as 25-30 overs creates an imbalance in a game.
However, a 40-over match, with an 8-10 over powerplay, and 10 overs which can be considered as the death overs is much more balanced. It has close to 20 overs where the batters play more adventurous and attacking shots, also having 20 overs in the middle where they can exercise more caution.
#1 Improves the fan experience
The main reason for taking such a step would be to improve the fan experience. Fans of today's age don't flock to the stadiums to watch ODIs in any random bilateral series like they used to, predominantly because of how lengthy the matches are. By reducing the time taken to play the match, 40-over ODIs immediately improve the fan experience.
Games move at a faster pace and it also makes for more entertaining cricket. There might come a point in the future where the sustainability of ODI cricket is threatened. To address that, such a measure can be taken.