Sunday, February 13, 2011

in 1987 while Vivian Richards in the course of that innings had hammered 181 Metamorphosis of the World Cup One day cricket was supposed to speed up things but by today's standards most of the teams batted at a snail's pace. There is no better example of this than the opening partnership between Boycott and Brearley in the 1979 World Cup final against the West Indies that produced 129 runs from 235 balls. And this in pursuit of a victory target of 287

Metamorphosis of the World Cup





The World Cup has certainly evolved over the years and in many ways is indistinguishable from the first few editions. When one sees the rather hazy images of matches in the first two World Cup tournaments on television it is hard to imagine how things have changed over the last 30-odd years.

Geoff Boycott and Mike Brearley opening the batting for England, Anshuman Gaekwad and Sunil Gavaskar going in first for India. These pairs would be nobody's choice of even figuring in an ODI today. Today's young generation born after 1980 would not be able to comprehend some of the strike rates notched up by batsmen in those early days symbolized of course by one of the most infamous knocks in limited overs cricket – Gavaskar's 36 not out off 174 balls against England at Lord's in 1975.

One day cricket was supposed to speed up things but by today's standards most of the teams batted at a snail's pace. There is no better example of this than the opening partnership between Boycott and Brearley in the 1979 World Cup final against the West Indies that produced 129 runs from 235 balls. And this in pursuit of a victory target of 287!

There was not much change in strategy or tactics and the thinking was generally conventional. Terms such as "floater", "pinch hitters" and "doosra" were not yet part of the cricketing dictionary as far as ODIs were concerned. The batting order was faithfully followed in match after match, bowling tactics and field placements were orthodox and captains were reluctant to think out of the box. One day cricket was still in the age of innocence. Television coverage was still in its infancy and while there was keen interest in the games it was very different from the frenzied following of today.

The format too remained the same for the first two World Cup competitions with the eight teams playing each other in the group once followed by the knockout semifinals and final. There was a slight change over the next two editions with the teams playing each other in the group twice. This gave the contestants some breathing space and made the format more interesting.

By this time the World Cup had moved out of England with India and Pakistan hosting the event in 1987. The overs were reduced from 60 to 50 and neutral umpires made their presence felt. The event that initially was over in two weeks was now stretched to a month. But white clothes and red balls were still the order of the day and it was not until the fifth edition of the tournament conducted by Australia and New Zealand in 1992 did coloured clothing, black sightscreens and the white ball made an appearance. By this time South Africa had joined the bandwagon and the format was finally changed. In what has been seen as the best format conceived to date all nine teams played each other once before the knock out stage. This involved 39 matches spread over five weeks.

But by now the World Cup had undergone a metamorphosis – in spectator response, in TV coverage and in matters of strategy and tactics. In 1975 and 1979 there were no field restrictions while bowlers could bowl a maximum of 12 overs. The field restrictions and the 30-yard inner ring came about in 1983 and four years later the bowlers could bowl a maximum of only ten overs. By now the powerplay had been introduced and big hitting which hitherto could be seen only in the slog overs was now witnessed as soon as the innings commenced. New Zealand which notched up seven successive victories in 1992 on their way to the semifinal adopted the very successful innovation of using the hard hitting Mark Greatbach at the top of the order. The Kiwis also introduced the concept of opening the bowling with a spinner in Deepak Patel. Other teams were not far behind as England opened with Ian Botham, West Indies with Brian Lara while India always had the swashbuckling  Srikkanth.

It was clear by now that television viewers would be glued to their sets from the start of the innings and one day cricket was becoming more a batsman's game. A total of 360 for four had already been notched up in 1987 while Vivian Richards in the course of that innings had hammered 181. But both these records went overboard by the time the next edition was staged in the sub continent in 1996. Innovation took a new turn with Sri Lanka opening not with one but two aggressive batsmen in Sanath Jayasuriya and Romesh Kaluwitharana. The tactic not only saw a double spark in the batting but also led the ultimate champions to rewrite the record books with a total of 398 for five. In the meantime Gary Kirsten raised the individual record to 188 not out.

Since 1996 in a bid to globalize the game non Test playing nations or associate members have been included in the World Cup. So from the original eight the number swelled to 16 by the time the eighth edition was held in the Caribbean in 2007 leading to changes in the format – the Super Six and the Super eight stages. There is now the additional batting powerplay generally taken towards the end of the innings. For the 2011 edition it is back to 14 teams and the knockout stage will be held from the quarterfinals as it was in 1996. The Umpire Decision Review System will be employed for the first time while the Super Over will decide tied matches in the knockout phase. Indeed the World Cup continues to evolve in keeping with changing times and needs.

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