When writing about sport it is all-too-easy to get waylaid by negativity. The trouble is, everyone has an opinion on whatever it is that is going wrong but when something or someone is a success it's just assumed that's the way things should always be. The incorrigible footballer attracts more scrutiny than the quiet achiever; a run of low scores protrudes more than solid consistency. Compare for example, the column inches devoted to Brendan Fevola or Mike Hussey as opposed to Matthew Boyd or Simon Katich.

With that in mind, I believe Cricket Australia deserves commendation for its attempt to revitalise its domestic one-day competition, now called the Ryobi One-Day Cup.

This summer is the first during which states are competing in a new split-innings 45-over format rather than the established single-innings 50-over model that will continue to be used in international limited-overs competition.

While traditionalists may wince at such a radical overhaul of the competition, Cricket Australia is simply upholding its tradition of innovation in domestic one-day cricket that began back in the summer of 1969 with the Vehicle & General Australasian Knock-out Competition. From that tournament (won, incidentally by New Zealand) to today, Australia's cricketing powerbrokers have tweaked the format at regular intervals to maximise public interest.

The current incarnation is the product of consultation between Cricket Australia and stakeholders concerned with the health of the domestic game - including fans, players and the media. With the emergence of T20 it was suggested that 50-over cricket no longer operated with an unquestionable mandate and, faced with falling attendances and reduced public interest, required a shot in the arm.

According to Cricket Australia, the research revealed a demand for "a one-day game that was faster and more attacking; more strategic and less predictable than current ODI cricket (one interpretation was that they wanted a "one-day Test match"); less regulation; a better balance between bat and ball and, from people who can't get to the ground or to a TV set until after work or school, a chance to see both teams bat and bowl in the second session."

Four rounds into the exercise I think the fledgling competition deserves an early thumbs-up. By allowing bowlers a maximum 12 overs and speedsters the option of 2 bouncers there is considerably less ‘filler' served up by bits-and-pieces one-day cricketers. The introduction of the split-innings format and the use of two new-balls also avoids the logjam of the soporific ‘middle-overs' when bowlers were replaced by dart-throwers and buccaneering stroke-players subdued into nudges and nurdles.

Already this season we have witnessed Tasmania's invigorating come-from-behind victory at the SCG as well as nail-biting finishes involving Victoria and Queensland. Captaincy is now of greater importance, long after the now-redundant toss. Wickets, not economy hold the keys to fielding success while batsmen have two targets to aim for with each requiring appropriate timing. Brad Hodge has once again taken the early-season plaudits with two exceptional centuries while last season's winners, Tasmania, are once again on-course to be around at the business end of the competition.

Critics can rightly point to the fact that the Ryobi One-Day Cup no longer mirrors the international one-day format and the potential for this to interfere with the preparation of Australian players. The World Cup later this summer will be the first test of this argument but I expect a squad dominated by seasoned internationals, unexposed to the new format, to populate the Australian squad. Excuses for failure should therefore be found elsewhere.

The proof of the pudding will of course be in viewing figures, both at grounds throughout the country and on pay-tv. Attendances at domestic one-day finals averaged around the 12,000 mark for most of the last 40 years but in recent times have dropped to around 5000 with only about 3000 committing to last year's event in the cavernous MCG. In most domestic sports the pallbearers would be suiting-up in anticipation of a burial. By acting so decisively, Cricket Australia may have sidestepped this issue for some time yet.

The Ryobi One Day Cup is still in its infancy but in a sporting landscape that indulges in downsides and revels in scepticism I believe it deserves room to flourish.