As the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup slowly warms up, the place of the 50 over game on the ICC’s cricket agenda is once again subject to scrutiny. For many observers this is due to the over long nature of the current tournament and a format designed to ensure that the test playing nations are not knocked out in the early stages, as was the case in 2007.

However, the real reason for doubting the future of the 50 over game is the growing strength of the Twenty20 format and the way in which this has consolidated India’s control over global cricket. Although questions may be raised about the nature of the business model used by the BCCI to consolidate and extend the game, India remains the biggest market for cricket both domestically and internationally and is now the chief broker in the sport

These concerns were central to a very interesting one-day cricket seminar Twenty20 and the Future of Cricket organized by Professor Chris Rumford of the Department of Politics and International Relations at Royal Holloway College, University of London. Proceedings were kicked off by the Indian cricket specialist Amit Gupta United States Air Force College) who contextualized the growing size and influence of Twenty20 both in terms of the upcoming IPL 4 and the efforts made by Cricket Australia to launch their own version The Big Bash.

Working from the premise shared by all contributors including members of the Roundtable (cricket journalist Huw Richards Cricinfo editor Andrew McGlashan and the founder of broadcaster Test Match Sofa Daniel Northcott) that Test Match Cricket and Twenty20 cricket can run side by side, the new format contributes a range of new skills which can be transplanted to the test arena. However, the place of the less exciting 50 over game has to be questioned with the best players playing ever more cricket around the globe and lacking the recovery time needed to ensure peak performance.

Two papers focusing on the domestic game (England and Wales) by Steve Wagg (Leeds Metropolitan University) and Adrian Pritchard (University of Coventry) demonstrated the difficulties of domestic cricket finance, and the need for Twenty20 to ensure that the game draws in a new younger audience receptive to notions of modernization. Whereas Steve Wagg focused on the travails of Leicestershire County Cricket Club, Adrian Pritchard drew a broader canvas in seeking to explore the financial realities of all first class counties and their reliance on the EWCB for subventions in order to ensure financial survival.

Perhaps most striking, and concerning of all is the impact of Twenty20 on cricketing ambition as it increasingly evident that some players are happy to sacrifice exposure in the Test Match arena in favour of travelling the world to appear in a range of domestic Twenty20 competitions. As Chris Rumford maintains, this trend has brought about the emergence of the Portfolio Player who is driven more by the potential riches on offer. It could also lead to earlier retirements from national sides as individuals seek to maximize cash returns before retiring. The acid test will come in the next 5 years as Twenty20 continues to expand whilst the 5 day Test Match needs to respond with innovations such as Day/Night Test schedules. It would also be useful if recently retired former international players begun to get involved in the administration of the game as they may be able to convince those with more distant first hand cricket experience of the need to face the new realities of globalised sport and the commodification of cricket.