Lara backs ODI World Cup as 'necessity' amid 50-over squeeze

West Indies great Brian Lara has defended the continued existence of the ODI World Cup, arguing that the 50-over game — increasingly squeezed between Test cricket and the T20 boom — still deserves its flagship global event.

Speaking to reporters in Cape Town on Thursday at the launch of the playing schedule for next year's men's World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, Lara drew an analogy with golf's Ryder Cup.

"The World Cup is important. Yes, there is an issue with the 50-over game with the advent of T20 cricket. But I look at it like the Ryder Cup. Nobody plays team golf, except once every two years [in the Ryder Cup]," Lara said.

"There are more attractive forms of the game [than ODIs]. Test cricket is still very vibrant in England and Australia, and T20 has taken over everybody's mind. So I understand the problem. [ODI cricket] is sandwiched between the WTC and the T20 World Cup, but it's still a very important version of the game. Maybe they can limit the [number of bilateral ODIs], but having the World Cup every four years is a necessity."

Lara's intervention comes amid mounting concerns over the format's future. On September 11, 2026, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting warned that 50-over cricket is likely to be squeezed out as more T20 franchise leagues emerge worldwide, while expressing confidence that Test cricket would survive if India, Australia, England and South Africa kept backing it.

The 2027 edition is already a focal point for players. On October 2, 2026, India captain Shubman Gill described the tournament as "unfinished business" following India's 2023 final defeat to Australia, and said the experience of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma remained "very valuable" as he grows into the leadership role.

Lara's own World Cup memories

Lara was himself responsible for some of the tournament's most indelible moments against South Africa. In the 1996 quarter-final in Karachi, batting in a cap because Allan Donald was left out of the XI to accommodate both Paul Adams and Pat Symcox, Lara made a scintillating 111 off 94 — 22 of them in a single Pat Symcox over — to help West Indies win by 19 runs and end South Africa's 10-match winning streak.

The same teams met in the opening match of the 2003 World Cup at Newlands, where Lara clipped 116 off 134 in a three-run West Indies win.

"The national anthems were being played, and I looked up and in front of me was Nelson Mandela," Lara recalled. "I told myself, 'I can't not perform today. The great man is watching me; I've got to perform.' He might not have been too happy [with the result], but I'm sure he enjoyed it."

Rugby clash no threat, says organiser

Next year's tournament will start one day after the rugby World Cup kicks off in Australia and end eight days after the final whistle in Sydney. With the current generation of Springboks the best team rugby has seen — winners of a record four World Cups and chasing a hat-trick of triumphs in 2027 — there were concerns rugby could steal cricket's thunder in the host nation.

"I don't think there will be competition for viewership or interest," said Trevor Manuel, the former South Africa finance minister who chairs the cricket World Cup's local organising committee. "Cricket is the second most followed sport, and it's because the Indian subcontinent is as big in cricket as it is."