7 historic moments that revolutionized the game of cricket

A metamorphosis was brewing and Cricket was waiting to be dissected.Progress is impossible without changes.One could possibly argue that George Bernard Shaw had Cricket on his mind when he spoke of change as a catalyst for progress. For decades, Test Cricket remained unchanged and stayed rooted to traditions. Shrouded in tradition, the gentlemanâs game retained its relevance and continued to pay homage to a sport spread over a span of five days. But like most aspects of life, a metamorphosis was brewing. The game was waiting to be dissected and offered as a hitherto unseen a-la-carte spread, where the fans had the option of consuming the Cricket content of their choice.Rules were being rewritten and the very nature of the game, in the manner that it was being played, was turned on its head. The game in its modern day avatar is but an image that has endured several changes since its early days as Test Cricket. While some of these changes were fascinating, the others were complex. All said and done, the metamorphosis has been absorbing. Here’s a look at 7 such changes that revolutionized the game of Cricket.

#7 Introduction of ODIs

ODIs ushered in a new era for the sport.

It is a little known fact that the first one-day competitions were held in England way back in 1963. The “Gillette Cup” was a commercial success and while the English public received it with enthusiasm, the rest of the world still swayed under the popularity of Test Cricket. Australia too held a popular domestic limited overs tournament in 1969-70 but the puritans were wary and watched with circumspect from the sidelines.

When the first ODI was held in 1971 at the MCG, the Australian media hailed it as an “overwhelming success” while the Guardian ran the headline - "One-day Tests may well be here to stay". Greg Chappell, who played the first ODI, evoked skepticism – “But I don't think anyone really had any idea of what might grow out of it”.

Fast forward to 2015, and the world has witnessed over 3,700 ODIs. Matches no longer panned five days and those that lamented the mundane routine of Test Cricket found ODIs exciting. And when the ICC threw the Cricket World Cup into the mix in 1975, ODI Cricket became a permanent fixture in the new cricketing world order.

#6 World Series Cricket

World Series Cricket challenged the establishment and disrupted the game, albeit in a constructive manner.

When the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) denied Kerry Packer’s Nine Network the exclusive broadcasting rights to Australian Cricket, Packer devised a novel plan to assert his claims. He was to form a breakaway professional Cricket competition, sign top cricketers, pay handsome salaries, introduce several innovations and draw the crowds. In doing so, he intended to arm twist the ABC into submission.

The World Series Cricket (WSC) was thus born in 1977.

By the end of its second season 1979, the ABC had relented and Packer had his exclusive rights to broadcast Australian Cricket and a ten-year contract to market the game.

A typical corporate battle, one might think but the implications and ensuing legacy of WSC lingers on. WSC popularized one-day Cricket. Players were now full time professionals and owing to a packed schedule, needed to be stay fit.

Packer brought broadcasters into the bargaining fray in the manner in which he negotiated with the ABC. The standards were set and the media houses of today have a huge say in the functioning of the game. As a result, the player’s compensation packages witnessed a surge and Cricket boards grew wealthier.

WSC also revolutionized the manner in which Cricket was being marketed to the masses. The “C’mon Aussie C’mon” theme song sent a creative surge in the minds of marketers the world over when it came to taking Cricket to the masses. And to cap it all off, the introduction of coloured clothing and brand merchandise created new avenues for turning Cricket into a commercially viable international sport of serious reckoning.

#5 Introduction of day-night matches

Day-night matches paved the way for Cricket on prime-time television.

This one was another Kerry Packer innovation. When his “Supertests”, held at an Australian rules football stadium in 1977 drew a paltry 2,000 attendees, he sought to up the ante. A year later, a floodlit and packed SCG witnessed a one-day day-night encounter between the West Indies and Australia. While the official attendance figure was at 44,337, over 50,000 reportedly watched the spectacle.

And they clamored for more. In 1980, the two sides met again at SCG. This time however, the match was under the ICC banner. The first official day-night ODI was played and there was no looking back.

After the SCG hosted another thirty odd ODIs under lights, India followed suit. During Australia’s 1984-85 tour to India, the BCCI picked the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi to host the first day-night Cricket match in the country.

Five months later, a third venue began hosting day-night Cricket – the MCG. And in 1992, the Premadasa in Colombo joined India as the only non-Australian country to host day-night Cricket. The popularity of the genre was undeniable. Crowds loved the spectacle of Cricket under lights and with colour clothing and a white ball - the allure was all the more endearing.

With Cricket increasingly demanding the attention of prime-time television and the crowds’ preference for viewing night Cricket at the end of a working day, the Cricket boards across the fraternity gave in and began investing in flood lights. Before long, all major venues possessed the ability to host day-night matches and the shiny red cherry was restricted to Test match Cricket.

That however, changed in Test No. 2188 when the Adelaide Oval hosted the first ever day-night Test. That a crowd of 47,441 created a festive atmosphere on day one was a testament for the unyielding popularity of day-night Cricket.

#4 Video replays and the third-umpire

Video-replays looked to render consistency in decision making.

Since our earliest recollections of competitive televised Cricket, the outcome of on-field duels lay solely in the hands of the duo clad in white and black. The adjudicators or umpires, as the game prefers to call them, possessed the all-important fore-finger in the sport. With a flick of a wrist to brandish the “dreaded finger”, they could end a career and alter the course of the game, if not signal the very end of it.

The pressure of holding center stage notwithstanding, the umpires had the envious yet arduous task of making split second decisions while bearing the full onslaught of thunderous appeals from warrior like fielding units. Packed with all the cricketing wisdom, they rendered verdicts – some splendid and some atrocious. To err is human and the umpires were only mere mortals. And in time, although we accepted that mistakes were bound to be made, we clamored for consistency.

But all that changed in 1992 and those constantly aggrieved, players and umpires alike, were handed a lifeline. India’s tour of South Africa in 1992, the first to the country by a recognised non-white side, was already a momentous one.

Adding to the significance of the tour - billed as the “Friendship series” - was the introduction of video replays to aid on-field decision making. And when a run-out appeal against Sachin Tendulkar in the first Test was referred, we learnt the existence of the now ubiquitous “third-umpire. Karl Liebenberg ruled Tendulkar “Out” and unleashed the era of video-replay aided decision making in Cricket.

The move was mostly welcomed while some expressed concerns citing possible over-reliance on the part of the umpires to leave decision making to the replay watching third-umpire. The crowds however, buzzed with excitement while awaiting the verdict – often relayed by the flashing of a green light to signal a dismissal.

#3 DRS

DRS took technology aided decision making in Cricket to a new level.

The video-replays were a game changer. The runs-outs were now always referred, even at times when we could see from our living rooms that a batsman had clearly made his ground. Saves on the boundary and low-catches were being reviewed as well. Slowly but surely, players and administrators realized the possibilities for error-reduction with replay assisted decision making.

The mere fact that a close-call was being reviewed brought a sense of fairness to the table and everybody went home fairly happy when the right run-out call was made. That said, when the odd LBW “howler” was committed by the umpire, discontent often scaled new heights. With advancements in technology, the temptation was now irresistible to bring in more aspects of decision making under the purview of a review.

By the mid-2000s, object tracking technology had matured. Infra-red cameras were being used for surveillance in all walks of life. The time seemed right for ball-games to embrace such advancements in the pursuit of perfection.

The principles of triangulation from visual images and data from numerous high-speed cameras enabled a computer to develop the trajectory of a ball in motion. By 2006, the “Hawk eye” was being used to make line-calls in tennis on the ATP circuit under a “Challenge System”.

After much deliberation, the ICC made its move. The DRS was first tested in a test match between India and Sri Lanka in 2008. And Virender Sehwag became its first victim. Aided by the “Hawk-eye”, the “Hot Spot” and the “Snickometer”, the administrators now sought to lay to rest the odd “howlers” that plagued the game. Disputed LBWs and catches behind the stumps would now come under the scanner.

While some questioned the inordinate intervention of technology while claiming that Cricket was being robbed of its human element, others seemed to be open to explore the innovation. But unlike the simplicity of determining the position of a landing ball on a tennis court, Cricket offered various complications. And despite the ICC working overtime to cover all ends with DRS, its implementation continues to draw flack and remains shrouded in controversy.

#2 Introduction of Twenty20s

Twenty20 propelled Cricket to new heights in popularity.

For over three decades since the advent of one-day Cricket, fans soaked in the action that the format offered. But little did players, fans and administrators know that another innovation would turn the sport on its head.

In the early 2000s, the ECB looked for ways to popularize the game amongst the youth of the country. Other headaches for the board included receding crowds and a drop in corporate sponsorship. It was then that a proposal for 20-over Cricket from Stuart Robertson, ECBs marketing manager, received the board’s approval.

2003 witnessed the first Twenty20 Cup played between the English Counties. Roaring success ensured a second edition and when over 27,000 people watched the first Twenty20 game at Lords a year later, the popularity was cemented. It wasn’t long before the other boards took notice and slowly but surely the format witnessed rapid adoption.

National Twenty20 competitions sprang up in most Test playing countries and this led to the inevitable migration of the format to international Cricket. The Rose Bowl in Hampshire played host to the first ever Twenty20 international in 2005. And two years later, the first ever ICC World Twenty20 tournament was held in South Africa.

But just why did Twenty20 skyrocket in popularity? It was almost a “no-brainer”. Test Cricket was often the subject of mockery amongst the Americans and Eastern European nations over the length of the format. Even in the cricketing nations, only the select few followed Test Cricket. While the ODIs reduced the duration significantly, the game still spanned the better portion of six hours. On the contrary, Twenty20s almost halved the duration and packed much more action.

Players improvised to maximize with the limited balls on offer. Big and innovative hitting became the order of the day as totals and run-rates inflated. And last but by no means the least, the format offered minnows an opportunity to cause upsets. The Netherlands could now beat England and Zimbabwe could embarrass an Australia. At the end of it all, Cricket triumphed and the crowed returned in clusters.

#1 IPL

The IPL created a template for mass-consumption of Twenty20 Cricket.

With the popularity of Twenty20 Cricket reaching a new crescendo, it was only a matter of time before franchise based Cricket emerged on the scene. County Cricket had for decades drawn cricketers from across borders.

Professionals that sought to earn a living and those that looked to fine tune their skills came over, played a season or two and returned. That said, County Cricket retained its tag of “domestic Cricket” and refrained to hog the limelight. The stage was thus set for a new world order to step up.

Enter IPL.

The league promised everything that Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket did and it did so with the approval of the ICC. An official billing meant that current professionals could play without the fear of being hauled up by their national boards. This, coupled with astronomical salaries for a fifty odd day event meant that the crème-de-la-crème of international cricket showed up. The seeds of a blockbuster were sown.

Eight years since its launch, the IPL continues to be a major event in the international Cricket calendar. An audience of over three crore watch every televised match. And the economics ensured that the BCCI and the broadcasters raked in the big bucks while the advertisers found a stellar platform to attain universal brand recognition. With the fans getting what they paid for, everybody walked away a winner.

The template was a proven one and was now there for the other boards to replicate. Soon enough, we witnessed the eruption of similar Twenty20 franchises through tournaments across the Cricket world.

In Australia, the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash was replaced by the Big Bash League as the country’s premier Twenty20 event after 2010-11. The Caribbean Premier League was created for Twenty20 Cricket in the West Indies in 2013. Similarly, Bangladesh followed suit with similar tournaments of their own in 2012 and Pakistan is now all set to launch their Super League next year.

With Twenty20’s only growing popularity, the genre is certainly here to stay.