Oz players not in favour of CA's 40-over ODI format

Sydney, Jun 12 (ANI): Confirming player concerns over a proposed 40-over competition, Mike Hussey has said he is no fan of Cricket Australia's attempt to change the 50-over ODI format.

Cricket Australia had proposed a new 40-over competition, in which teams would bat for two innings of 20 overs each and has planned the change for the domestic limited overs format next summer.

Hussey, who has played the 40-over format in England, said it was no substitute for 50-over matches, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

"I know in England they play a 40-over competition. I'm personally not a fan of it," Hussey told the radio station SEN.

"In international cricket you play 50 overs and with the World Cup it's 50 over cricket and in Australia we're hosting a World Cup in 2015. I'm really keen to stick with the 50-over format. It is a lot different.

"That extra 10 overs is a lot different in the way you go about the game and I'd like to see us stick to the 50-over format," Hussey said.

Tasmanian captain and Australian squad member George Bailey backed up Hussey disapproval of CA's new changes.

"I'd like to think that six or seven months out from a World Cup, they wouldn't tinker with one-day cricket too much. I think while there's a World Cup still to be played for we'd better keep practising that," Bailey told reporters in Hobart.

Australian Cricketers Association chairman Darren Lehmann said there needs to be much discussion on the issue before anything new is put in place. (ANI)