Player survey reveals T20 WC has closed gap on ODI World Cup
Sunday, 30 June 2024
The T20 World Cup is on course to overtake the 50-over World Cup as the "most important" ICC event to players around the world, according to new survey data seen by ESPNcricinfo.
The newly-rebranded World Cricketers Association (WCA), formerly FICA, conducts regular surveys which are circulated to several hundred players around the world. In the past five years, there has been a sharp increase in the proportion who consider the T20 World Cup to be the most important ICC event, especially among young players.
In 2019, 85 per cent of respondents ranked the 50-over World Cup as the most important ICC event, compared to 15 per cent who chose the T20 World Cup. In 2024, only 50 per cent chose the 50-over World Cup, compared to 35 per cent who said the T20 World Cup and a further 15 per cent who picked the World Test Championship.
For players under 26, the change is even more stark. In 2019, 86 per cent picked the 50-over World Cup compared to 14 per cent who chose the T20 World Cup.
In 2024, just 49 per cent said the 50-over World Cup, while 41 per cent picked the T20 World Cup and 10 per cent chose the World Test Championship.
The trend is reflected more widely across the game, beyond ICC events. Five years ago, 82 per cent of survey respondents picked Test cricket as the most important format while 11 per cent chose T20. This year, only 48 per cent of players chose Test cricket compared to 30 per cent who said T20.
The WCA say that the sample size for this year's survey - which will be released in full later in the year - was around 330 professional players from 13 different countries, the majority of whom are current internationals. The data is skewed by a higher proportion of female respondents in 2024 but the WCA say the trends hold true when isolating responses from male players.
India, Pakistan and Afghanistan players are among those who are not represented by the WCA since they are not unionised. But the survey responses are spread across players from cricket's other major nations, which include Australia, Bangladesh, England, New Zealand, South Africa and West Indies.