Lorgat in favour of changes in ODI format

Lifting the 10-over limit for the bowlers and tweaking Power Plays are some of the ideas ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat has in mind, to spice up the tedious middle overs of One-day cricket.

The Twenty20 onslaught has necessitated a review of the 50-over format and Lorgat felt there was room for improvement in ODIs.

"There is no doubt that there is an opportunity, to create a few tweaks that would enhance the ODI game," Lorgat said.

According to him, having a fresh look at the middle overs might be the need of the hour.

"The middle overs in an ODI is an area where we could experiment with something like the Power Play component," Lorgat told Cricinfo.

"At the moment the fielding side takes it immediately after the ten-over mark; perhaps that could be changed. Also, the batting side should take the Power Play before the 40-over mark because the last ten overs are always a dash for runs.

"Maybe we need to consider lifting the limitations on bowlers: should they be restricted to ten overs? Typically the bits-and-pieces bowlers come into play during the middle overs where nothing much is happening, but if there is a penetrative bowler things could be different," Lorgat explained.

At the same time, the ICC official welcomed the idea of a Test championship. "If I was pressed for an answer the ideal would be some form of a championship where you collect points and work towards a stage where four teams play in the semi-finals and then a final," Lorgat said.

"At the next chief executives committee meeting (to be held on November 30 and December 1), we will have more discussions and find a way of creating context for Test cricket," he said.

"That does not necessarily mean a Test championship, but we could work towards a Test final every year or ever second year but that depends on the mechanics of how you work out the model," he added.