50-50 is history, says Aussie great Shane Warne

Former Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne, an unabashed supporter of the Twenty20 format of the game, has called for an end to one-day internationals.

50-50 is history, says Aussie great Shane Warne

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50-50 is history, says Aussie great Shane Warne

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Former Australian leg-spinner Shane Warne, an unabashed supporter of the Twenty20 format of the game, has called for an end to one-day internationals.

"This is a big call, but cricket evolves and the 50-over game has passed its sell-by date," he wrote in his column for the Times newspaper of London last week.

"Sorry, but that's just greed on the part of administrators. From now on, we should be playing Tests and Twenty20 internationals, with a Twenty20 World Cup every two years."

Now a tremendous hit during the current Ashes series as television commentator, the no-holds-barred Warne has taken a swipe at some of cricket's leading umpires.

Shane Warne missed the first Test at Cardiff, preferring instead to take part in a gambling tournament in Las Vegas.

He has impressed the cognoscente with his perceptive comments from the media box, with former Australian Test captain Richie Benaud saying he is not surprised at Warne's success as a commentator.

"Shane and Adam Gilchrist worked in the commentary box during the 2008-09 summer in Australia. They were very good."

Australia's Channel Nine has announced Mark Nicholas will take over the mantle of central cricket commentator from the 78-year old Benaud, a position he has held with distinction since Kerry Packer's World Cricket Series in 1978, when he retires next February. However, Warne's fans expect him to succeed Benaud, who many feel cannot be replaced.

Warne has also stirred a hornet's nest, describing the level of umpiring in the game today as hitting "its lowest point in two decades". He said umpire salaries should be increased.

Criticising South African umpire Rudi Koertzen, New Zealander Billy Bowden and Australia's Daryl Harper, Warne wrote: "The standard of umpiring is as low as I've known it in 20 years.

"Yes, it is a difficult job and technology exposes any mistakes, but some of the performances in the Ashes series so far have been pretty ordinary.

"Players will accept that the odd bad decision gets through now and again. At the moment, there are just too many."

Warne said that of those on the present ICC panel, Pakistani umpire Asad Rauf was "pretty good" and Australia's Simon Taufel "isn't bad".

"Rudi Koertzen has been a good umpire, but unfortunately his time has passed," Warne added of the South African, some of whose decisions have come in for harsh criticism from the media during the current Ashes Test series.

"Billy Bowden is inconsistent, which we saw at Headingley. I think Billy can be very good, but sometimes he gets a bit carried away.

"Talking to players and having a friendly nature is imperative, not the 'I'm the boss' schoolteacher approach of Daryl Harper who is unpopular with players and the attitude that they never make an error. Billy is another who cannot admit a mistake," Warne wrote.

The former highest wicket-taker in Test cricket also believes umpires should be fast-tracked to the top level, where salaries should rise from about $100,000 to nearly three times that amount on a retainer and match-fee basis.

But he is against the use of technology for anything but line decisions unless the gadgets are foolproof or an umpire makes a glaring mistake.

"In that case the third umpire should get on the walkie-talkie and tell his mate in the middle to change his decision," he said.

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Warne also believes batsmen should be banned from switch-hitting.

"If switch-hitting cannot be banned, then the leg-before ruling must be tweaked so that a batsman changing his stance has a second off stump," Warne said.

(With inputs from AAP and newspaper reports)