Strategic Convergence in Cricketing Formats∗

Using data for 2008-2009, we determine winning strategies for the game in two different formats: 50-over one-day internationals and 20-over games from the Indian Premier League and Twenty20 Internationals. We find that attacking batting and defensive bowling outperform all other strategies in determining the probability of winning in both formats despite the thirty over difference between them. Moreover, in both versions of the game, good fielding turns out to be an important complement to these two strategies. We speculate that this will have implications for the future of cricket, especially for the popularity of formats and the composition of teams.