What an occasion the one-day international used to be. 

Before the Ashes series in 2005, England played a tri-series (remember those?!) against Australia and Bangladesh. The remarkable events of that series included a stunning Bangladeshi victory over Australia following a classy hundred from Mohammad Ashraful, the continuing rise to stardom of Kevin Pietersen, a magnificent 152 from Andrew Strauss in England’s highest score to date, and those dramatic two runs off Ashley Giles’ pads to tie the final match and share the title with Australia. 

Most importantly though, the series had context. Its purpose was clear – to whet the appetite for the forthcoming Ashes series and to provide an up-and-coming Bangladesh side with such high-quality opposition. That purpose was rewarded with raucous, knowledgeable crowds. Even the Australia-Bangladesh games were packed out, albeit at smaller grounds. 

They were proper tours back then. Visiting teams would stay in the country for two months playing a combination of tests, ODIs, T20s, and tour matches against domestic sides. The storylines and rivalries that would develop over the summer would grip thousands of fans. 

Obviously, this article pertains primarily to ODIs, but that context was important. Or rather, today’s lack of context is important. 

Look at how different England’s recent series in the West Indies was compared to the above. Shoehorned between test series in Pakistan and New Zealand; forced, deliberately, to the sidelines. 

At this point, it’s hard to believe that it is not a conscious decision by the ECB to destroy one-day cricket. The domestic tournament has been shunned in favour of a snack-sponsored vanity project. International test and ODI series are deliberately played simultaneously, leaving England to select a B squad for the ODIs. Sure, test cricket should be the pinnacle, but surely ODI cricket deserves better? Even as recently as 2019, this format brought so much joy to so many people.

After England’s horrendous World Cup campaign in 2023, many cited the lack of ODI cricket played by England’s stars between their success in 2019 and their defence in 2023. That may well be true, but of greater concern to me is the general lack of List A cricket being played by promising English juniors.

Listed below are the four debutants named by England in the West Indies series, and the number of List A games they had played before the series:

• Jordan Cox - 7
• Dan Mousley - 12
• Jamie Overton - 44
• John Turner - 19

For Jordan Cox in particular, the lack of experience looked to catch him out. He scored just 22 runs in 3 games at a strike rate of 39. Ouch. The Overton selection stood out as odd. Selected at number 8, he bowled just 4 overs and scored 32 runs across the 2 matches. It’s hard to believe that either would have been close to selection in a full-strength England side. Cox heads off to New Zealand now to join the test side as cover for Jamie Smith. He will be under pressure.

During that 2005 series discussed above, England named two debutants. They are listed below, together with the number of List A matches they had played at the time of their debut:

• Jon Lewis – 140
• Chris Tremlett - 64

The contrast is stark.

England will argue that these players have three years to prepare for the next World Cup, and that they will develop best if exposed to as much international cricket as possible. For those that are able to survive a run of early poorly form, that may well turn out to be true. The wider problem, however, is that people aren’t going to turn out to watch these development series. As the number of attendees and viewers dwindle, the ECB may then turn round and say that they are justified in pushing ODI series down their list of priorities. They may become less financially viable than T20s and test series. But shouldn’t the ECB be doing everything they can to prevent that. Aren’t they largely the cause of that demise?

So how should the situation be rectified? First, teams must tour for all three formats, with a test series in the middle. Second, there should be no scheduling of ODI series at the same time as test series, save for England Lions matches against other A sides or associate members. Those both seem reasonable and achievable requests. More complex, though, is the domestic problem. Like it or not - ‘The Hundred’ is here to stay.

I would reserve Sundays for one-day cricket from the early part of the season. I’d have 32 teams in 4 groups of 8 – including minor counties and European national sides to make up the numbers – with the top 16 progressing. In the group stage, teams would play each other home and away, before a straight knockout with home advantage determined by records to date. That’s ten weeks of cricket with top quality players available, all televised at the weekend, culminating in a final at Lords, of course.

Over to you, ECB.

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By Leon Parrott