Opinion: Why Can’t the ECB Produce Specialist One-Day Players?

England’s ODI team were embarrassed 3-0 in their recent series in Australia.

Following a historic T20 World Cup win down under, the Poms were given a reality check when Australia separated the two sides by margins of six wickets, 72 runs and 221 runs (DLS method) in each ODI respectively.

After recently appointing a new white ball coach in Matthew Mott, England’s success has differed, but why are the T20 results so variable from the 50-over results?

Despite the packed schedule being a key topic in international cricket news, England’s series in Australia was their first ODI series against a full-member ICC nation for 16 months when they dismissed Pakistan with ease.

Since then, a jammed-packed schedule of test and T20 matches have left the in between format behind. A three-match series in the Netherlands in June looked to be more of a T20 practice than that of a competitive ODI series as the visitors recorded 498-4 in one of their 50-over innings.

The high-performance review proposed by the ECB for the 2023 season would have the One-Day Cup played in April to avoid a schedule clash with the Hundred which was the case this season. The changed schedule will go ahead if it is approved by two-thirds of the 18 professional counties.

During the clash with the Hundred, the One-Day Cup was played and treated by the ECB as a second-rate competition. Although it provided beneficial for fringe members of counties proving their class and younger players a stage to shine on, it was dominated by county veterans such as Stevie Eskinazi and Darren Stevens proving that the future of the England’s ODI squad would need to be based on T20 or first-class form.

With the summer of 2022 bringing ‘Baz-ball’ to cricket fans’ vocabulary and positivity and aggression throughout all eleven players desired in all formats, it’s no surprise to see England’s T20 success, a success that couldn’t be replicated by the shorter format minded players.

The ODI squad’s turn for aggression and obsession for breaking run-scoring records was demonstrated when Joe Root’s career was brought to an end despite an average of 50 in the format and a strike rate of 86 runs per 100 balls, something that would be reasonable with the flamboyant players of Bairstow, Buttler and Livingstone around him.

With more players becoming specific ‘one format players’ as time goes on, the death of 50-over cricket looks forthcoming, particularly if England, the forefather of world cricket, play with plans that move away from traditionalism and in schedules to prioritise franchised competitions.

Despite a better standard expected in next year’s One-Day Cup when played as a standalone in the ECB’s schedule, unless it is played in the middle of summer, pitches could also play a detrimental role on the competition.