Pollock says ODIs still the best limited-overs format

Dubai, Aug.17 (ANI): Ex-South Africa captain Shaun Pollock believes one-day international cricket is still the best limited-overs form of the game.

Looking ahead to next month's ICC Champions Trophy to be played at The Wanderers and Centurion, Pollock said: "Having played a lot (of 50-over cricket), maybe I'm a bit more of a sucker when it comes to appreciating the game.

"The fast 20-over game has caught the imagination of many but if you get off to a bad start then you can cost yourself the game.

"There is a lot of skill involved in the 50-over game and it's over a much longer period, so that allows teams to have a bit of a mishap and recover from it and you've got time to implement tactics.

"I think ODIs are still the best format of limited-overs cricket, especially with regard to making sure the best team comes out on top," he said.

Pollock knows all about that. He was part of the South Africa squad that came out on top in the first staging of the ICC Champions Trophy, when it was known as the ICC Knock-Out, in Bangladesh in 1998.

The tournament has had several facelifts since then but now, with just the top eight-ranked international sides involved in a short, sharp contest of 15 matches in two weeks starting on 22 September, Pollock believes it is set up perfectly for a great spectacle.

"A lot of sports have gone that way (involving just those sides at the top end of the rankings)," he said. "Tennis and golf are just two that have done it.

"It's always good when you've got the best teams competing against each other and that's exactly what you'll have here.

"All those teams will be based in one place, it will all take place around Johannesburg and so it will be easy to go and view and it will give you some fantastic cricket.

"It's a great format, I'm glad the tournament's come here and I'm glad they're continuing with the (ICC Champions) Trophy," he added.

Pollock is also excited by the added touches at this year's event, including a total of four million USD prize money, match of the match prizes of a watch worth 8,500 USD, a special Champions Trophy jacket for each member of the winning team and value-for-money ticket prices starting from just ZAR35 with the highest price for a ticket to the final only ZAR 140.

"It's good for the game. There need to be incentives for the players and spectators and for everyone involved so that all forms of the game are looked after from Test matches, to the 50-over game to the 20-over game. The better we market them, the better we make everyone with regard to their mindset to play in them (and) then it's obviously going to be a better spectacle and that's what you want," Pollock said. (ANI)