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England cricketer's swipe exposes ugly truth before Aussie series

England allrounder Moeen Ali is not exactly thrilled about the upcoming ODI series against Pat Cummins' Australia side. Pic:Getty
England allrounder Moeen Ali is not exactly thrilled about the upcoming ODI series against Pat Cummins' Australia side. Pic:Getty

Hand up if you knew Australia was playing a one-day international against England in Adelaide on Thursday.

Keep it up if you knew there were games to follow in Sydney on Saturday and Tuesday at the MCG.

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Okay, so any of you going to the games or at least watching it on Pay-TV?

Thought so….not many.

ODIs used to be a big deal back in the day. Stop-what-you're-doing-and-watch-every-ball kind of big deals.

It was no rare thing for grounds to be packed. TV ratings and revenue on Nine covered Bert Newton's expense account for the year.

These days the 50-over game is hanging on like a crazy mate at the pub trying to avoid the bouncer's eye.

Ticket sales for the three-match series against England are beyond embarrassing, so much so organisers won’t even confirm where they're at – or not at.

They say T20's hold on international cricket's itinerary and the money it brings is threatening Test cricket – one look at the game's Futures program confirms that – but where does the one-day game stand in all this?

While not yet ready for the hospice, it’s clearly ailing as more and more punters opt for their cricket served intravenously rather than in soluble form.

Less has become more for cricket's TikTok generation.

Moeen Ali lashes 'terrible' timing of ODI series

England star Moeen Ali described the timing of this first ODI as "terrible", coming just four days after the Poms' T20 World Cup victory.

At least he knew it was on.

Australia coach Andrew McDonald sees it differently, as you would expect from someone keen to move on from the Aussies' schizophrenic T20 campaign.

Seen here, Australia cricket coach Andrew McDonald at a training session with his players.
Australia cricket coach Andrew McDonald says his side can't wait to play its upcoming three-match ODI series against England. Pic: Getty (PATRICK HAMILTON via Getty Images)

"They're very important (games)," he told Radio SEN.

"Just looking at Mo's comments, there's a classic case of an individual probably not representing the collective team.

"I think there's some excitement from certain players within that England camp to take on Australia and there's excitement definitely from our camp to get up and running.

"There's a different energy around the group. We are super excited for this one.

"We can’t wait for this to kick-off."

You might be alone there, Macca.

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