SYDNEY: Former Australia captain Allan Border has called for an end to Twenty20 Internationals outside the World Cup and hopes the 50-over game will not be allowed to ‘wither and die’.

Australia’s domestic international season began last week when they played three T20s against South Africa with both sides fielding weakened sides in front of disappointing crowds.

To follow that are an ODI series against Proteas, a four-Test series against India, a triangular ODI series also featuring India and England as well as the World Cup.

With some fearing that 84 days of international cricket in one summer is close to saturation point, Border said which format he felt was surplus to requirements.

“I wouldn’t be playing T20 International cricket at all, I would save that for a World Cup every two years,” Border said.

“There is enough domestic T20 cricket to fill the programme out quite nicely ... there’s T20 competitions in basically every country. Why we have to play international Twenty20 cricket as well as that?

“I’d hate to see the 50-over game wither and die, I really think it’s a wonderful game of cricket and I think the World Cup coming up will be an absolute ripper.

“I think that would be a shame, I think the 50-over game is a superior game to 20-over cricket.

“I prefer the 50-over game as far as the ebb and flow, the bowler is in the contest a little more, and you can have little periods where you bat or bowl yourself out of the game and then bat or bowl yourself back into the game. That’s very difficult to do in 20-over cricket.”

Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2014