Speaking in Darwin on Thursday during Australia\u2019s first Test against Bangladesh, Greenberg revealed that Gupta had made similar comments during a recent visit to Melbourne and said he agreed with the underlying principle.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI think the principle of his comments are that the games that are played need to matter and have context and jeopardy,\u201d Greenberg was quoted by Cricinfo as saying.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cWe fundamentally believe that. But we\u2019re also realists to know that bilateral ODIs make up a significant portion of our broadcast agreements, so we\u2019ve got to find a way if we\u2019re going to create more jeopardy and meaning, and we\u2019re going to move them, what are we replacing them with, and how do you replace the revenues that go with those?\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cSo there\u2019s a fine balance here. Some of that\u2019s short term, some of it long term. But the principle of what he\u2019s saying is right. Creating jeopardy and meaning into the games we play is important. But it\u2019s not an easy solve.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Earlier Sanjog Gupta, CEO of the ICC, stated that the period of \"randomly scheduled\" bilateral series had to come to an end, as the future of ODI cricket was closely linked to meaningful competition and the World Cup.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Greenberg is a member of the ICC working group which is responsible for finalising the Future Tours Programme for the 2028\u201331 cycle, the group also being looking at what a more extensive 2032\u201335 schedule might look like.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The chief of the CA also supported Andrew McDonald, the Australia coach, in his request for bigger squad sizes for the ODI World Cup later this year. Since the tournament is being expanded, there are concerns regarding the demands placed on the players, and Greenberg stated that the CA had already brought the issue to the ICC.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve advocated strongly,\u201d Greenberg said. \u201cAndrew\u2019s made it pretty clear to me that\u2019s a position he wants to carry. So we\u2019ve passed that feedback on to the ICC. So we\u2019ve got some conversations scheduled with them, and I think there\u2019s a number of countries have said similar, given the change to it, that those squad sizes are important. So that\u2019s an issue on their table.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Australia, on the other hand, did not advocate just as vigorously for an increased number of Associate teams to be included at the ODI World Cup after criticism had been received from Scotland and the Netherlands regarding the new format. Greenberg stated that the ICC had based its decision on commercial considerations.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know a lot of the background other than that was presented at the ICC conference,\u201d Greenberg said. \u201cI assume it\u2019s just about trying to extract commercial value for those World Cups. And I saw some recent comments that some of the Associates are unhappy. I get that. Hopefully, there\u2019s a pathway for more Associates to look at the T20 World Cup as opposed to the ODI World Cup, so I think that\u2019s what the ICC is planning will be.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Australia, on the other hand, did not advocate just as vigorously for an increased number of Associate teams to be included at the ODI World Cup after criticism had been received from Scotland and the Netherlands regarding the new format. Greenberg stated that the ICC had based its decision on commercial considerations.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Comments made by Greenberg come at a time when there is an ongoing debate regarding the future of ODI cricket, as the ICC is aiming to make sure the format stays relevant while the boards are hesitant about losing the broadcasting and commercial income earned from bilateral series.<\/p>\r\n\r\n