ICC plays down fears on relevance of 50-over games

Mumbai, Aug 20 (PTI) The International Cricket Council today sought to allay concerns over the relevance of the 50-over ODIs in the wake of the huge popularity enjoyed by the shortened Twenty20 games and said both the formats were here to stay.

"ODIs have been there for a number of years and Test cricket is alive and well as is shown by the difficulty in getting tickets for the Oval Test (for the series-deciding Ashes contest between England and Australia)", said ICC's general manager, commercial, Campbell Jamieson, here.

"We have just added a new format (T20) and need to find the right balance (in playing the three types). But like in any sport the nation v nation contests bring out the best in players," he said at the unveiling ceremony of the ICC Champions Trophy which starts in South Africa on September 22.