1. HOW CRICKET HAS EVOLVED

The rules, dresses and the duration involving a cricket game have undergone a sea change since the game began. Luckily, just as one version of the game began to bore, another was round the corner to ensure that cricket was alive and kicking. And the best part is that tradition, in the form of Test cricket, co-exists happily with the modern, be it ODIs or T20. Gaurav Gupta takes a look at how various formats of the game came into being from time to time...

ODIs
The first ODI was played in 1971 on the Melbourne Cricket Ground, ironically the same venue on which the first-ever Test was played. The possibility of a result, attacking batsmanship — thanks to the limited version of 50 overs each side, caught on like wildfire — and cricket got a new life. The short duration of games meant a World Cup could be played. The first World Cup was held in 1975. It was a hit, and ODIs soon started outnumbering Tests.

THE PACKER REVOLUTION
In 1977, Australian media moghul Kerry Packer couldn’t get the TV rights for cricket Down Under, so he decided to change the game altogether, floating a rebel series. Out went the traditional whites, in came coloured clothing. Out went cricket under sunlight, and in came cricket under floodlights. Big Boys play under lights, it was said. The red cherry was replaced with a white ball, and sightscreens became black instead of white. Purists scoffed, but fans loved the new, sexed-up version of the sport.

HONG KONG SIXES
Cricket’s six-a-side version was launched in 1992 when the Hongkong Sixes event began. Six players on each side get to play five overs each, with everybody except the wicketkeeper allowed to bowl. Batsmen are supposed to retire once they reach 31, and a team is deemed all out only when the sixth wicket falls. The tournament became so popular over the years that now 10 international teams play in it.

DOUBLE WICKET
The double-wicket version came up in the 1980s and is still popular in many cities and towns in India. A pair gets to bat for eight or ten overs, with roughly four bowlers against them. Six runs are deducted in case a batsman is dismissed. In 1989, a tournament of this kind was played in Chennai, and it involved the West Indies pace bowlers against two good batsmen from each country.

CRICKET MAX
This was a form of cricket invented by former New Zealand captain Martin Crowe. The match consisted of two innings and each side was allowed only 10 overs per innings. A ‘Max’ zone was drawn up in front of the batsman, in which if the ball were hit, it would fetch double the amount of runs. Declaring a free hit off the next ball after a no-ball started with this version. A championship in this version took place between all the first class teams of New Zealand, but Cricket Max, as such, couldn’t catch on worldwide.

TWENTY20
T20 originated in England, in an attempt to win back interest in the game there, and proved an instant hit, thanks to the entire setting of a match resembling one big party, rather than a serious cricket match. Slowly, the fast food version of the game, filled with fours, sixes, and plenty of thrills and frills, spread to other cricket nations. One-dayers had become too predictable, too monotonous, and T20 provided a welcome change, and the idea of treating a cricket match like a film, or a picnic, appealed to everyone. The first T20 World Cup was played in 2007 and India, the country which resisted this format, won.