Viv's still the King

If I were selecting an all-time ODI XI, I wouldn't hesitate for a second before making my first pick. While the sheer weight of Sachin Tendulkar's achievements coupled with India's obsession with ODIs will probably mean that the Little Master goes down as the most important player in the history of the format, he still wouldn't be that first pick of mine. On the basis of ability on the field of play alone, in any objective analysis of the best ODI batsmen (and let's face it - batsmen win one-dayers), the man who famously said "class is permanent" permanently comes top of the class.  Mr Rajesh over at Cricinfo just produced one such piece of objective analysis, comparing the averages and strike rates of great players across eras. Combine the evidence of that article with a superb record in finals (including two of the World Cup variety) and a knock that's arguably still the greatest ever and the conclusion is clear. Sir Viv is still the King of ODI Cricket.

Memo to England: boring one-day cricketers make one-day cricket boring

Sometimes, if you hang on to your unfashionable opinions for long enough, you suddenly find your views are back en vogue. English cricket finds itself in this happy predicament at present. One-Day Internationals? Just not the Real Thing. Not worth bothering too much about - a chance to groom future Test players (regardless of whether they’ve shown any limited overs pedigree domestically), to groom future Test captains (regardless of whether they merit a place in the one-day side) and to take punts on bits and pieces county pros in the hope that they might become the next Ian Botham. England have not had a world class ODI side since 1992, and have only pretended to care out of politeness to the rest of the world.

Now, however, they’ve been joined by a chorus of players and administrators across the globe, all singing the same song. The “primacy of Test match cricket” is paramount, I hear them chanting - a familiar old tune. Ironically, it’s the ECB’s creation of an even shorter form of the game that’s led to this sudden increase in its airtime. Personally, I’ve long been a believer that there’s too much ODI cricket played each year. Bilateral series could be reduced in length, the Champion’s Trophy could easily be scrapped, and the format of the World Cup altered to shorten its duration. But scrap ODIs altogether? That’s surely a bit much. It’s a format that has produced – and continues to produce – great matches and great entertainment for spectators, as well as great financial reward for administrators. The 50-over World Cup is still the single prize that means the most to cricket fans outside England and Australia.