5 things from recent cricket history that will make you feel really old

A lot has changed in world cricket over the years. New rules have been added to make the game more interesting. New players have carved niches for themselves as old ones have made way for them.The England victory in the most competitive Ashes of all time happened 9 years back. The famous Dravid-Laxman stand that overthrew Australia at Kolkata happened no less than 13 years ago. The double hundred by Rohit Sharma may still be fresh in our memories, but it has already been well over 4 years since Sachin hit the first ODI double hundred ever.Here is a compilation of cricket events gone by that actually happened a much longer time ago than we have ourselves believe.

#5 Seperate Powerplays

They have been around for 9 years. That’s right. It may sound a thing of modern day limited over cricket, but it has been around for quite some time to count it as something that is not new. People who started following cricket only recently cannot relate to how different it used to be in the 90s and early 2000s. It is difficult for them to imagine a game where the umpire didn’t have to circle his arm after the 10th over of the innings every time, which basically indicates the beginning of powerplay, nor did the batting side have to rack its brains on what was the perfect and tactically feasible time to take the batting powerplay.

True, there used to be field restrictions for the first 15 overs, but powerplays has greatly changed and the game of cricket, and if we go by what we have seen so far, it has been for the better.

They were first introduced in 2005, wherein the first 10 overs was mandatory powerplay, and the bowling team had to take 2 more such blocks of 5 overs each. The rules were changed in 2011 when a batting powerplay was introduced, which could not be taken any later than the 36th over.

The batting powerplay was a very subtle addition to the rules, and it has produced some really significant periods of play in ODI games even until today. Many a times teams have collapsed trying to make use of the fact that only 3 men were patrolling the region outside the 30-yard circle, while many bowling attacks have also been destroyed by set batsmen who have used the batting powerplay to the fullest.

It may have tilted the game a bit in the favour of the batsman, but nobody seems to care as long as the game has become more interesting and has attracted a lot of viewership thanks to the pelting of the bowlers that the game has to offer. Should the ICC try and think of some new additions in the future that would benefit bowlers, for a change, perhaps?

#4 Umpire Decision Review System (UDRS)

Can you venture a guess as to how long ago it was first tried, given that even today it faces a lot of criticism and has not been adopted as full-time in spite of the many benefits it has to offer? 6 years!

It doesn’t feel that long ago, does it? The Umpire Decision Referral System (UDRS) was first introduced in an India-Sri Lanka series in 2008, and contrary to the saying that necessity is the mother of invention, it was not so much as necessity as something called Monkeygate that prompted the introduction of the review system. Yes, it has been almost 7 years since that.

There has been a lot of debate over the use of UDRS. Some have the view that if we have the technology now, we should use it to minimise the blunders committed by umpires in the middle. Others have a problem with it, with the view that only a limited number of reviews are allowed and that technology is not always reliable. And by others, the reference is made to the BCCI. Hence, it has not been implemented in all international games.

Stuart Broad walks into a bar. Just kidding, he doesn’t walk.

Concerns were raised once again when Broad did not ‘walk’ when he had clearly edged the ball against Australia at Trent Bridge last year, just because the on-field umpire did not think he was out. Broad was alright in not walking if you decide for a moment that moral science does not exist. But the thing is, it does. And when such blunders affect the outcome of the match, one really starts to think if we are better off than we were in the past, given that we have the technology that was unavailable in the past.

#3 The Inaugural World T20

This was a major event in world cricket that happened no less than 7 years ago. India went on to lift the first ever World T20, and it was nothing less than a movie script that continued till the final ball of the tournament.

Many things happened that one would never have thought of. A newcomer of yesterday had led the side to a World Cup victory out of nowhere, with a side that had a number of youngsters in it replacing the big names who had failed to carry India forward in the 50-over World Cup just months before. Australia, who were clear favourites as far as any limited overs format went, were knocked out in the semi-finals.

Robin Uthappa and Virender Sehwag proved to be better at hitting the stumps with their bowling than Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi, who weren’t prepared for such a contest. Yuvraj Singh hit Stuart Broad for 6 sixes in an over.

Something that was not new – Pakistan losing both times to India in the tournament, since it was a world event. They were once undone by the bowl-out, and the second time in the all-important final by the calm and composed Joginder Sharma (who ironically hasn’t played for India after that game).

This marked the beginning of the era of Dhoni, who was shortly after appointed captain of the ODI and Test outfits. It also meant that it was time for the older generation to plan their retirement from limited overs cricket at least.

#2 The epic clash between South Africa and Australia

All known standards for ODI cricket were reset in this epic battle that happened in Johannesburg 8 years ago. Gilchrist, Katich, Ponting, and Hussey contributed handsomely with the bat to take the score to a whopping 434 off just 50 overs, the highest ODI score by a team ever. Little did they know that it would be bettered just 4 hours down the line, and there never was a match that so dramatically switched sides as did this one.

If Ponting had made a herculean 164, Gibbs decided to respond back with an even better made 175. Smith gave him good company for the first 190 runs, after which it was small but quick partnerships that saw South Africa progress from 299/4 to 438/9, with just one ball remaining in the game.

South Africa won the game in style, and the series too. One does wonder what must have gone on in the South African dressing room during the innings break. Probably it was Smith who gave a pep talk so great that the Proteas went ahead with something that was never done before, or maybe it was because they were hit for so many runs while fielding that they wanted to return the favour. Whatever it may be, it produced one of the most thrilling ODI contests ever, one that will be recounted many times over as the game that Australia lost after putting 434 on the board.

Those who care for trivia will find this interesting. Sri Lanka surpassed South Africa’s record 438 in a match against the Netherlands when they scored 443/9 just four months later. It would have crossed their mind that a similar upset could occur again. But there were no surprises in store this time – they won comfortably by 195 runs.

#1 Retired legends of the game

Steve Waugh played his last Test match more than 10 years ago. It has been 2 years since Ricky Ponting retired. Brian Lara played his last Test for the West Indies 8 years ago. He recently featured in the MCC v ROW XI match at Lord’s, making 23 with the bat.

Sourav Ganguly last played a Test for India 6 years ago. From the more recent ones, Dravid retired 2 years back and it has already been more than a year since Sachin represented India. Stephen Fleming last played an ODI for his country 7 years back. Sanath Jayasuriya retired from Test cricket 7 years back.

As far as pace bowling goes, many big names have left the playing field a shockingly long time ago. The duo of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis last played a game for Pakistan 11 years ago in 2003. Andrew Flintoff last played international cricket in 2009, which was 5 years ago. So did Makhaya Ntini. Shaun Pollock hung his boots way back in 2008, as did Darren Gough. Shoaib Akhtar retired from Test cricket in 2007, while Brett Lee hung his boots a year later.

The most dangerous spinners of all time haven’t been around for a while. Shane Warne retired 8 years ago, while Muralitharan’s last international game was the World Cup final against India at Mumbai 3 years ago. Anil Kumble’s last game for the country was against Australia at Delhi 6 years ago.

Fielding sensation Jonty Rhodes last played Test cricket 14 years ago, and it has been 11 years since his last ODI game.

Let’s face it – we are growing old. And before we realise it, we will be telling our kids about Tendulkar and how he used to slaughter bowling attacks at will, about Warne who was a nightmare for nearly every batsmen of his time, the impeccable reverse swing of Akram and the incredible innings of 400 not out, played by Lara.