Australia VS England: David Warner and Steve Smith show that ODIs are still the format for veteran stars

England, the defending ODI world champions who just won their second T20 World Cup too, have started their preparations with a series against Australia – in Australia. 

It proved a tough start to the series, as the hosts cruised to a relatively straightforward win courtesy of half-centuries from David Warner, Travis Head and Steve Smith. 

And while there was plenty to focus on in terms of Head’s performance, the bulk of the runs was scored by veterans Warner and Smith – both of whom have struggled lately in T20I cricket. 

Warner, who was instrumental to Australia’s 2021 T20 World Cup win, looked like a shadow of his former self during this year’s tournament and could not get going in any of their games. 

Many will argue that his poor form was one of the reasons Australia missed out on the spot in the semis – but at least he was involved in the tournament. 

For Smith, a certified batting great of this era, the World Cup mainly went riding the bench as he only got a run in the team for their final group game of the tournament. 

However, the fact that both scored big runs in the ODI format is no coincidence. After all, ODI cricket in the modern age is a hybrid between the old and new schools of batting. 

Yes, there is an expectation from batters to be aggressive on occasion. But the sheer length of the innings – 300 balls as opposed to 120 of a T20 game – means you can also bide your time. 

This is especially true in the middle overs when the field is primarily spread out, and players will focus more on rotating the strike and keeping the scoreboard ticking rather than clearing the ropes. 

Thus, batters need to bide their time and pick the right moments to go big. The same cannot be said about T20I cricket, where pretty much every ball, there is pressure to go big. 

Therefore, with ODIs returning to prominence as the 2023 World Cup build gets underway, one can expect a number of veterans to start finding form. 

After all, the ODI format is significantly slower than T20I cricket and thus needs players to bat long rather than go hard at everything. 

And this was reflected in Warner and Smith’s scores. Warner scored 86 off 84 balls at a strike rate of 102.38 – criminal in T20I cricket but perfectly acceptable in ODIs. It’s above par as far as the scoring rate goes. 

The same can be said about Smith’s knock – he scored 80 off 78 balls at a strike rate of 102.56. That is not bad for a player who is not good enough for white-ball cricket. 

Indeed, as ODIs become prominent in the coming year, expect to see many more old war dogs make their way back into the limelight.