Johannesburg, Sept. 21: While the world debates the future of 100-over cricket and the format itself goes on test here from Tuesday, the two captains of the teams meeting in the opening match of the ICC Champions Trophy, Graeme Smith and Kumar Sangakkara had interesting points of view to offer on the day.

Speaking to reporters at Centurion, Smith said of the future of ODI cricket: "The ICC has put a lot of effort into this tournament. You can feel it and you can see it. Ultimately though, it’s how the cricket’s played that is going to define if the tournament is a success or not.

"The good point is that it is short and to the point, and hopefully it can capture the imagination of all the fans around the world. I guess that’s the challenge that one-day format has.

"There has been a lot of talk about domestic competitions being moved to 40 overs, so this is a crucial period for the one-day game and how this competition is successful on the field is more important than anything else."

Added Sangakkara, "Its going to be an important step. In the 2007 World Cup, the cricket was great. But lot of people thought that it was way too long and too many teams, too many days in between the games.

"The true test for one-day cricket is in games like these."