One-day cricket, like Marsh, is struggling to take a trick at the moment.

Three nights ago, Marsh made a second-ball duck in the Twenty20 match against India at the MCG.

While the West Australian had a match to forget, the evening itself was another highlight for the 20-over format.

More than 60,000 fans attended the match, which was played in perfect summer conditions.

Contrast that with three days later, as Australia and India opened the one-day tri-series with a match at the same ground.

The crowd was boisterous enough, as it always is for an Indian match, but numbered no more than 30,000.

Melbourne's fickle weather intervened and rain held up play for just over three hours.

Several times, the ground staff took off the covers in hope, only to put them down again as more rain came.

The delay meant that the 50-over match was shortened to 32 overs per team.

It was nothing more than bad luck and the ideal weather returned late in the afternoon.

But the contrast between the two MCG games underscores the ongoing shift in cricket.

After an uncertain start, the domestic Twenty20 Big Bash League was a big success this summer for Cricket Australia.

Now there is speculation about how many more international Twenty20s will be on the schedule for the next Australian summer.

On Saturday, players were bought for hundreds of thousands of dollars in the lucrative Indian Premier League Twenty20 auction.

Also on Saturday, Australian Test and one-day captain Michael Clarke said it was up to Cricket Australia and the ICC if they wanted to schedule more international Twenty20s.

Clarke also noted the crowd at the MCG one-dayer might suffer because the same venue had hosted the Twenty20 clash only two nights previously.

As Australia and New Zealand prepare to host the 2015 World Cup, it will be interesting to see the crowds that are attracted to this one-day series.

As last night's rain delay was about to end, a comment from AFL player Jack Riewoldt perhaps reflected a much wider point of view.

``Even Mother Nature hates 50 over cricket .th.th. bringonT20,'' said the Richmond key forward.