ODIs should only be played at World Cups: MCC president

Cricket is a unique game in more ways than one. For starters, the rules of the game are not called 'rules' but 'laws'.

Secondly, the game's governing body can't enforce changes to the old laws or adopt new ones by itself. The only organisation that can do it is the Marylebone Cricket Club, which is better known by its acronym MCC.

Although the MCC's power is more ceremonial in nature, the club still boasts as the guardian of the game's laws and has a significant pull on the game's direction moving forward.

So when its newly appointed president, Mark Nicholas, in his first media interaction says that the bilateral 50-overs series needs to stop, it warrants some attention.

Nicholas, a renowned cricket commentator, author, and former Hampshire County captain, told ESPN Cricinfo on Monday, the day he took over as the MCC president, that ODIs should be reserved for World Cups only.

"We believe strongly that ODIs should be World Cups only. We think it's difficult bilaterally now to justify them. They're not filling grounds in a lot of countries. And there is a power at the moment to T20 cricket that is almost supernatural," said Nicholas.

Earlier in July, MCC World Cricket Committee had suggested significantly reducing the number of ODIs after the ICC World Cup 2027.

MCC's new president carries the same sentiment and sees this as the natural progression of the game globally where ODI is falling behind the other limited-overs format, Twenty20.

"It's more than just ticket sales. It's the amount of people that want to own franchises, the amount of countries that want to run tournaments, it's the amount of players that want to be in a market all around the world.

"In a free market, the most money wins. And that's just the end-game. The players can see that bubbling away and they want to be a part of it. So, it is an extraordinary power that T20 has, and I think scheduling 50-over cricket alongside it just continues the story of the death knell of the ODI game," added Nicholas.