Warne calls for end to one-day cricket

Shane Warne has called for the end of one-day cricket, saying that the 50-over format has "passed its sell-by date". He is of the opinion that teams should play only Test and Twenty20 cricket with a World Twenty20 being held every two years.

"This is a big call, but cricket evolves and the 50-over game has passed its sell-by date," Warne wrote in his column for the Times. "It's amazing to think that after the Ashes series, England and Australia play seven one-day games, which take about a month. Sorry, but that's just greed on the part of administrators."

By eliminating one-day matches, Warne wrote, international players would be able to play more domestic cricket, thereby improving its quality, and also have more time with their families. "Under my plan a tour would last roughly five weeks: three Tests with a warm-up game and five Twenty20s in a ten-day period. The Ashes would stay as a five-match series."

Warne also advocated a world Test championship with two divisions and one team getting promoted and demoted from each every two years, as well as a separate window for the IPL. "I wonder if people in England realise how big the Indian Premier League is," Warne, who is captain of the Rajasthan Royals, wrote. "I've read that it is the fourth biggest sporting event in the world in terms of value, estimated at around $1 billion. England are having to move away from early-May Tests because they are struggling to find opponents during a clash of dates with IPL. A gap of a month or six weeks fixed in the calendar would ease all potential problems and keep the players happy."

Warne also criticised the present standard of umpiring in international cricket, saying it was "as low as I've known it in 20 years". "Yes, it is a difficult job and technology exposes any mistakes, but some of the performances in the Ashes series so far have been pretty ordinary," he wrote. "Players will accept that the odd bad decision gets through now and again. At the moment, there are just too many." He also felt that the remuneration umpires currently receive should be revised upwards to "reflect the importance of the job".