What are the top four things that we don't see in cricket these days?

Change, however painful or joyous it might be, is the only constant in life. It is also a reflection of our progression in life.

Sports, and especially cricket, bear no exception to the aforementioned fact.

From timeless Tests and World Series Cricket to the razzmatazz of T20 and now the recent push for a 100-ball format, cricket has come a long way during the course of the past 100 years.

However, with time, a plethora of things that we were so accustomed to watching 10-15 years ago have become things of the distant past--none more obvious than triangular or multi-national ODI tournaments.

The mid-80s and the decade of 90s saw teams compete in various multi-national tournaments like Hero Cup, Independence Cup, Austral-Asia Cup or the multiple soft-drink sponsored tri-series in Sharjah, mostly involving India and Pakistan as the two participants.

At the turn of the century, only England and Australia would feature a tri-nation tournament in their home calendars. However, with the onslaught of extra-long ODI and T20 bilateral series, even that withered away - England staged their last home tri-series back in 2005.

Like the tri-nation and multi-nation tournaments, there are a plethora of things that we do not see in cricket these days. Here are the top four of those things.

#4 Crowd invasions on the cricket field

A common sight in cricket during the 90s

These days, teams or batsmen don't have to worry about over-enthusiastic crowds invading their celebratory moments. Consequently, fans have borne witness to some of the most iconic celebratory routines by cricketers - lik Darren Sammy's 'baby-dance' every time he takes a wicket or David Warner's 'jump' after scoring a century.

But until as early as the start of the 21st-century, the first thought the players had upon reaching a milestone was to make sure no spectator embarrassed them with a hug or touching their feet.

Take for instance Kapil Dev's sensational catch to dismiss Viv Richards in the 1983 World Cup final. By the time he had realized that he had pulled off a stunner, he'd already been mobbed by an enthusiastic Indian crowd.

Or recall Anil Kumble's catch to defeat Pakistan in the 1999 World Cup. Rather than celebrating the win, the first thing he and other players did was rush off the field anticipating a ground invasion.

#3 One-day cricket in whites

ODI cricket in whites

In an era of pink-ball Tests and vibrant limited-overs cricket kits, it is indeed unfathomable to think that as recently as the beginning of the 21st century, teams sometimes would use their white kits to play 50-over matches.

In fact, Sachin Tendulkar's highest ODI score (186 vs NZ, 1999) before he breached the 200-run barrier came when both India and New Zealand played out an ODI series in 1999 in their Test match uniform.

Nowadays, we have separate jerseys for ODIs and T20s as well.

#2 ODI games between Test matches

ODI games between Test matches

A Test series followed by the limited-overs leg - sounds mundane and predictable, right? Back in the day, teams used to play 50-over matches amidst Test cricket.

In the 1992 West Indies tour of Australia, the Windies played the first Test, then six ODIs of the Benson-Hedges tri-series that included Pakistan as the third team. They followed that up with the second and third Test, and then proceeded to complete the tri-series (which they won), before playing out the final two Tests.

Yes, such schedules were considered normal in those days.

#1 Home Umpires

Michael Holding kicking the stumps in disgust

Remember the West Indian tour of New Zealand in 1979-80 and that iconic picture of Michael Holding kicking the stumps in dissent?

That one picture, and the tour as a whole, summarized what the visiting teams had to endure during that era of 'Home Umpires'.

Unlike today, until the late 80s there was no concept of neutral umpires. The officials were of the home team's origin, and foreign teams would regularly accuse them of making malicious decisions against them - especially in the sub-continent.

The first decisive step to correct that came in November 1986, when two Indian umpires - CK Ramaswamy and Piloo Reporter - officiated in the Pakistan vs West Indies Test match at Lahore.

The permanent move was, however, championed by former Pakistan captain Imran Khan, who was fed up with the continuous carping after every series in Pakistan. Khan invited two English officials for the home series against India in 1989-90 (Tendulkar's debut series).

The ICC took a cue from that and one neutral umpire per Test was introduced on an experimental basis in 1992. That was increased to two neutral umpires 10 years later - the move was made permanent from India's 2002 tour of the Caribbean.