20-20 came about in 2005 in England.
Batting scores have increased significantly possibly around 2013. We seen the huge scores in the 2015 CWC.
Before 20-20, scores of 300 or more did not feature significantly. Even 280 was very hard to chase down or put together.
I have to say it was more enjoyable and entertaining seeing teams struggle to chase down scores of 250.
What about you?
I really liked reverse swing in ODIs which has been pretty difficult to achieve for bowlers since the two new ball rules with each ball only being 25 overs old at the end of the innings.
"old cricket" gave equal opportunities to bowlers also, now the whole tamasha is in favor of batsmen.
ODI's were best until around 2014 times I guess.
Before this, ODI hundreds meant something. You would hear X scored an ODI ton and think wow. Nowadays, everyone scores hundreds. It's ruined the ODI format.
I think the change was inevitable to keep the interest alive in the game but they went more towards commercializing it to make quick money rather than actually caring to about the delicate balance between the bat and the ball.
Number of overs were reduced to 20 per innings.
And with time, rules were hell bent in favor of the batsman.
Field restrictions
Power plays
Free-Hit
One bouncer per over etc
And I can live with all that, but what I really abhor is the small boundary line.
Did you notice, how in a tense soccer game, the stand still crowd right behind the goal post, jumps out of their seats when a goal is scored at a critical moment?
This is how crowd used to react when a boundary was scored in cricket. Fans would jump out of their seats and would dance in joy.
But these days, people yawn at sixes.
The commentators try their best to instill a fake excitement to cover a six. Even our good ole' Ramiz Raja; the ball will land a foot outside the rope in a sixty yard boundary, and he will go, "And Hafeez hits a
MASSIVE six."
In my opinion, the boundary lines must be AT LEAST 80 meters.
This will separate boys from men. This will bring some sanity in the game, and this will bring more balance and interest in the game.
I mean, come'on; a miss-hit should be caught and not land out side the boundary for a six.
I notice that rules hardly changed in the American baseball in the last decade or two, but the interest in fans has not decreased by an iota.
The reason is, there is a fair balance between the ball and the bat.
The outcome of almost every pitch (delivery) has an intense level of uncertainty behind it. The entire game keeps you gripped.
On the other hand, those who wanted to commercialize cricket, did not know that you can't scare people with the same alligator over and over again.
T20 has now become somewhat boring. T10 is already in the mix.
How are they going to keep interest alive in the game? T5? T1?
