Former England all-rounder Moeen Ali said that the current ODI format is “dying” because of the “terrible rules” and how the two new balls rule has made life easier for the batters in the 50-over format.
“Somebody asked me about the ODI format, and is it dying? And I just think, for a long time,” Moeen Ali said on the podcast “Beard Before Cricket.”
“The rules in ODI cricket are terrible. So we have two basically brand new balls for pretty much the whole innings.
“Back in the day, you used to have five fielders outside in the powerplay. Now you can have only four out there.
“I just feel like it’s a lot easier for the batters. And that’s why you see more batters probably averaging now 50, 60, some even 70, I think, at some stage. It’s because it’s a lot easier for them because you can’t really build pressure as bowlers.
“It’s so much harder to get wickets in the middle, unless you’ve got gun spinners.”
Moeen Ali also explained how power-hitting has become easier because the rule of two new balls has taken reverse swing out of the equation.
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“In one-day cricket back then, because you had the old ball, reverse swing came into play as well within 30 overs. It’s hard to hit sixes and fours off the older ball. Now, if you look, even when I batted at seven, it was easier to hit.
“It is easier than it would have been 15 years ago. Because the ball is only, what, 25 overs old? Hard, and so you can still hit the ball and it flies.
“Whereas back in the day, guys like Lance Klusener and MS Dhoni, when they were hitting, they were hitting literally the softest ball. Dark, old, and soft. Reverse swing is hard to hit and see as well.
“It’s much harder for those guys.”
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