Moments that changed cricket forever: The truncated transcending of ODIs

One Day Internationals – Adding the colour to Cricket

Growing up in the late 80s and early 90s, watching cricket – ODI cricket – was a ritualistic mainstay for a kid whose family was decidedly cricket-manic. At that time, the rules and stipulations seemed almost encyclopaedic with the flurry of the players adding to the convoluted mix.

The prevalent confusion was exciting too, the urgency in the manner of play appearing far different from the languid, almost-relaxed shot-making that the kid had otherwise seen from the same set of players. The history behind this difference came to the kid later, years later as a grown-up; perhaps at a juncture when the format is facing a near-certain overhauling, if not extinction.

If I were Dr. Sheldon Cooper or someone with similar of similar intellectual capacity, I would probably start by speaking of the unexpected torrential downpour at MCG that laid siege to three days’ worth of cricketing hopes between Australia and England, four decades ago. But since me and Dr. Sheldon Cooper are poles apart, it would be only wise for me to pick up the threads of my narrative in a more simplistic manner.

ODI cricket, to put it bluntly, owes its creation to the rain Gods and a chance stroke of brilliance by the MCG officials to come up with an alternative plan to salvage what remained of an Ashes Test match between Australia and England, in 1970-71.

The result: an eight-ball-an-over game with 40 overs for each side that not only lifted the bedraggled spirit of the onlookers but also paved the way for the true precursor of cricketing entertainment. In reality, however, the 40-over format was a tweak that digressed too hugely from the 60-over, six-balls-an-over game that had already been laid out on the English domestic front.

1972 and 1973 were the true-blue path-breaking years for ODI cricket as the format went on to gain attention all over the world. The 1972 Ashes series saw the organisation – and eventual success – of the first-ever ODI series consisting of three matches, albeit with yet another distinctive tweak. This time, the overs were reduced to 55-overs a side with the conventional English domestic rule of six-balls an over.

The very next year saw New Zealand play host to Pakistan, coming up with a 40-over, eight-balls-an-over ODI match. As the attention towards the new-gen format grew, more and more matches were started to be held in Australia, England and New Zealand between 1973 and 1974.

Incidentally, however, even though the format gained popularity, the variances and differences in the maximum overs of play continued in each series, with each country coming to be associated with a variance. Typically then, ODI matches held in Australia were 40 overs a side, with eight balls constituting an over, whereas in New Zealand the overs were shortened to 35 overs a side with eight balls an over.

England, meanwhile continued with its 60-overs’ game consisting of six balls an over. The differences in the overs weren’t reconciled till the very first cricketing World Cup, where the ICC officially adopted the abbreviated format and demarcated 60-overs as the maximum over count to constitute a match.

Three World Cups later – including the maiden World Cup – the 60-over format was officially truncated to 50 overs a side. This time, it was thanks to shorter daylight in countries in the sub-continent where the sport’s hold had reached proportions perhaps never envisioned by the sport’s founders.

In England, however, 60 and 55-over formats continued to exist in the domestic front and lingered on till the dawn of the new millennium, before making a proud and graceful exit into the annals of the sport’s history.

For purists who had been braving the sport’s so-called dilution from its iconic creation by then, the 80s marked several unprecedented milestones for the sport. The rule-book underwent a few more changes. Kerry Packer, once seen as the rebellious bane of the sport, was brought into the cricketing fold with his ideas forming the nucleus of the more modern cricketing phenomenon.

Change is good – Indian team in ODI colours

White apparel metamorphosed into colour and bright light shed away the inhibitions of playing under the night sky, allowing for the conventional red cherry to be altered with the brighter white-toned sphere. But it was not until the 90s that ODI cricket witnessed yet another pioneering moment: that of field restrictions.

As a kid, I always enjoyed the batting team belt the ball to all parts of the ground during the protracted overs of fielding restrictions. If India was by any chance playing, I got a perverse pleasure in watching the bowler and fielders try in vain to run behind the scarpering ball.

Sadly though, I couldn’t help the feeling that most Indian batsmen – barring a few odd – squandered opportunities whenever they were given to them on a platter. But frittered chances or not, the rule accounted for an incomparable opportunity to score freely. Quite an ironic prospect too, considering its name.

Field restrictions were first introduced in ODIs in the early 1990s (1992 to be precise) with the simple requirement that only two fielders be posted outside the 30-yard circle. A virtual gold-mine, it meant that for the first 15-overs the batsmen could have complete say over the game. It was a welcome move with players – both past and present – acknowledging the edge that the batting team would possess.

Part of the charm of the ODIs came from the unique ways in which this rule was utilised and exploited. Teams were urged to pulverise opponents during the first 15 overs so as to ensure that the pressure remained on the opponents even as the match progressed.

Openers came to be selected with much more caution and care; someone who could begin the attack straight-away became the more preferred choice than one who took his time to settle and get things underway. With a clear indication to go on the attack, the scope of field restrictions swayed crowds and teams alike.

Powerplays were, however, seen with skepticism when introduced in 2005. The bifurcation of the 15-over field placement restriction into a 20-over ambit, divided into 10-5-5 seemed quite queer and unnecessary. A mandatory Powerplay of 10 overs and a batting and bowling Powerplay of five overs each seemed too convoluted back then. To top it, the umpires waving their palms in a circular motion also seemed vague and questionable.

The fans had probably not even begun to fully comprehend the newly altered rules’ paradigm when the Powerplay system was changed again. The scrapping of the five-over bowling Powerplay in 2006 saw a reverting of sorts to the original 15-over format, though bifurcations remained between the mandatory and batting Powerplays.

In the seven years since the scrapping of the bowling Powerplay, several elements have been added and several deleted from the quintessentiality of ODI cricket. A lot has been supplemented just as a lot has been diluted. The kid in me is spell-bound again, in a trance viewing the awesomeness of contemporary ODI play.

The adult, though, is caught in limbo; as if I were caught napping right in the middle of a fast-paced drama. It’s not a feeling that one relishes even as one acknowledges that these are those never-ending, classic moments that would go on to change the sport forever – as they have been doing in all this while!

Read more about such events which altered the way cricket was played over the years - The moments that changed cricket forever.