History they say moves around in cycles and a vicious one at that. During the 1950’s and 60’s when the English crowd were happy at being entertained by 6 days of slow , classic test cricket little would they have predicted that the game would end in a matter of hours. By 1970 the Gods had had enough . Choosing the 1971 match between England and Australia as a potential target, the heavens opened up and ODI’s were born. It was Cricket Australia that came out as convincing winners and after almost 40 years of ODI cricket(10 years of domination at that) , they want to change their meal , add a bit more spice to it ,aka the split inning one day cricket. Citing predictability in the middle overs as a reason , the ACB is in a hurry to test the new format.
There have also been voices declaring the demise of Test cricket due to the advent of its more glamorous version, the Twenty-20. The radical change is imminent and it would take a fool, not to take notice of it. The last Ashes series between England and Australia seemed to suggest that audience were willing to lap up a good game of cricket, be it in any form, contrary to the opinions of the popular skeptics. India vs. Pakistan games is always touted to be big and they hardly disappoint. With burgeoning rivalries such as Pakistan vs. New Zealand and the ever present South Africa vs Australia, cricket seems to have few reasons to worry. A major misconception. With every successful and marketable game, there are bland ones that crop up .The over dosage of cricket is not helping the cause either with games being scheduled every alternate week. The ICC really needs to come up with a less taxing schedule if it wants to increase the longevity of the game. Increasing the number of test matches seem a good option, which is being advocated by many, but the adrenaline addicts as always seem to have a negative opinion about it. Test cricket is a real test of character, grit and determination and has long been used as a yard stick in the measure of competence. Chucking that out should never be an option.
Cricket has witnessed its second major upheaval with the rise of T20 which has led to the commercial beast, the IPL among others. ODI’s being played in the USA bears testimony to the fact that cricket is willing to stretch its boundaries and even reach out to people who labeled the sport as one played by ‘fools ‘ . The game is going through a slow transition and it is important that the sport doesn’t suffer from an overkill of ideas. Change is welcome, but not at the expense of game forms that have defined the sport in itself.
