Lorgat, Hussey not convinced on one-day changes

Cricket Australia might be keen to foist split-innings one-dayers on the supporters but their own players are not yet convinced the format will work - and neither is the ICC. The chief executive of the ICC, Haroon Lorgat, has said he is not a fan of the concept, while one of Australia's most experienced ODI players, Michael Hussey, is sceptical about the new innovations CA is considering.

The Australian board is looking at a number of options it could trial during its split-innings games in the coming domestic season, including a "super striker", a designated batsman who is able to bat in both innings. The CA chief executive James Sutherland was in London on Sunday to brief the Australian Test players on the ideas, which will be trialed before next year's 50-over World Cup.

Hussey has already professed his love for the traditional one-day format and after hearing CA's plan, little had changed. Despite being a batsman himself, the notion of one player being able to bat twice in a game held no appeal for Hussey, who said the Australian players were still in favour of the existing ODI format.

"I don't think it is right because one of the great challenges about batting is you get your chance and if you get out first ball you appreciate your wicket so much," Hussey said. "If you know you've got a second chance it doesn't sit right with me.

"It's more for the fans really, more for the entertainment value. If there's someone like a Chris Gayle who obviously draws a lot of people to the game, if he does happen to get out first ball at least some of the population - certainly not our fielding team - will be happy that he'd get another chance. But I must admit it doesn't quite sit right with me."

Nor do some of Cricket Australia's ideas appeal to the ICC chief Lorgat, despite the fact that the game's governing body has encouraged national boards to experiment with limited-overs cricket at the domestic level. Instead of a major overhaul of the ODI format, Lorgat would prefer to see fewer meaningless games played, with 50-over games contributing to a team's path to the World Cup.

"I must admit I'm not yet a fan of that," Lorgat told Test Match Special on Friday when asked about split-innings one-dayers. "A lot of people feel that 50-over cricket is under threat. I'm not one of those pessimists. There may be a few tweaks, but when people talk about fundamentally bringing in the bulldozer and revamping 50-over cricket, I'm not one of those sceptics at the moment.

"I think sometimes there are too many one-day games in a [bilateral] series. If we are able to structure some sort of league that has got meaning, that allows you to qualify ultimately to the World Cup, that creates a lot more context. Then of course there is the sheer volume of it, and at what times of the year we play it. All of those factors we should look at first before we fundamentally look at altering that format of the game."

The ICC remains confident the 2015 World Cup will be a 50-over competition and it believes that ODIs are still popular, especially on the subcontinent. However, crowds have dropped off for one-day internationals in Australia, where this summer there will be a seven-match series against England following the Ashes, and even the players concede there is room to improve.

"If it could be made better or more interesting for the fans, and more interesting for the players as well, then you've got to look at trying to make things better all the time," Hussey said. "We're open to suggestions but I think we've got to be pretty careful not to try and change too much."