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If Test cricket is the sport's pinnacle and Twenty20 the future, it's timely the 50-over game had its pulse checked.
The Champions Trophy tournament has put the 50-over game back to the forefront of world cricket the past fortnight, but it's clear the game faces an uncertain future compared to the other two formats.
Critics of the middle version argue it needs rejuvenaton to reduce the predictability of quick start, tedious middle and slog at the finish.
Some, like Shane Warne, have called for the abolition of the one-day game, which was first played in the early 1970s and became an international staple in the 1980s.
It is the format many fans grew up on, and the wheel that keeps television money spinning.
But at its worst it is utterly forgettable, with too many formulaic games and too many meaningless tournaments outside the World Cup.
Australia captain Ricky Ponting, who has spent almost a whole year of his life playing one-dayers for his country, has noticed the International Cricket Council (ICC) trying to boost the format given the surge in Twenty20's popularity.
"They're trying to pump up the 50-over game which right at the moment it probably needs," Ponting said at the Champions Trophy in South Africa.
"The Twenty20 being as successful as it has been for the world game, I think it's important that the administrators do as much as they can to promote the game, but more importantly the players play the game the right way as well."
Most players argue there is a place for one-day games, but administrators have provided an insight into the changing view of the 50-over game.
The England and South African boards have moved to scrap the format from their domestic competitions, and instead favoured 40- and 45-over competitions respectively.
Cricket Australia has no plans to follow, but no longer hosts a triangular one-day series each international summer after it became too drawn out.
Short and sharp are the buzz words in world cricket now, and to that extent, the sixth Champions Trophy has been successful.
Having the world's best eight teams in two groups of four meant all pool matches mattered.
Spicing things up further were upsets, as New Zealand and England reached the semi-finals and South Africa and India missed out.
But attendances have been low despite all the games being staged in South Africa's populous highveld and organisers making tickets cheap - entry to pool games cost 35 Rand (about $A5) and the most expensive tickets to Monday's final are 120 Rand (about $A20).
Low crowds are a far cry from this year's Twenty20 world championship in England, where packed stadia made for a great atmosphere amid slogging.
ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat said the game's controlling body believed there was a place for 50-over cricket amid a tight schedule, and was confident the format could attract new fans.
"Provided we've got quality and the best cricketers competing, you will attract spectators," he said.
Lorgat said the ICC was always considering innovations, but ruled out introducing major changes before the 2011 World Cup.
To look at the schedule would not raise any concern over the future of 50-over matches, as games are constantly scheduled.
But before this tournament began, South Africa captain Graeme Smith said it was vital the number of meaningless matches were reduced so not to dilute the game's attraction.
So maybe a short, sharp tournament comprising the best sides is not the right time to check the one-day game's pulse.
Perhaps it would be more accurate to assess the 50-over game's worth during the monotony of too many games with little riding on results, such as Australia's recent 6-1 series over England.
Ponting felt seven games between cricket's oldest rivals was too many.
How must he feel about playing the seven against India starting late October?
© 2009 AAP
