The power play was introduced in mid 2005 when the 15 over field restrictions was done away with. The power play at its inception basically implied that in the first power play—(10 Overs) over-1 to 10 would have only two fielders outside the 30 yard circle. In the second and third power plays which the captain of the fielding side had the right to choose on when to take it. Each of 5 Overs. In the 2nd and the third power plays the captains were allowed a total of three fielders outside the 30 yard circle.

Recently, this rule has seen a change and that being the 3rd power play or also known as the batting power play is now in the hands of the batting side. The batsmen in the middle have a right to choose those set of 5 Overs anytime they wish to in the innings barring the first set of 10 Overs.

Although the batting power play was made so that it gives an edge to the batsman (not the first thing in favour of ‘em and be rest assured not the last). However, since its inception it’s only been working against the batsmen. Often in the punt to hit ‘em out of the ground; batsmen seem to lose their wickets which sets the tone for the remaining Overs. New batsmen come in and take their time to settle in and a look at the score board——whoosh! The power play is gone!

It is misunderstood that the power play should be taken when the team’s best batsmen are out in the middle. No, it should be taken when two batsmen are going well especially if one of ‘em is a big hitter. So that’s what should be done ideally speaking. However, that doesn’t tend to happen.

Most team keep the batting power play right until the end when they have ‘not much to lose’ i.e. even if the batting power play goes not as per plan it wouldn’t have a major effect on the eventual score. In other words it basically means under reliance on the power play or what critics would call ‘under utilization of the power play’.

What seems to baffle me is that if the batsmen are going to hell for leather in the last ten Overs whatever be the case then why waste the batting power play in that situation. It is all together a different matter if a team is 7 down by the 35th over and decides to keep the batting power play aside. However, that too could be a cause of concern as if less number of wickets have fallen that obviously means that a better batsman is at the crease and hence he will be able to make better use of the batting power play.

Hence, I would say that in most cases especially if wickets are in hand it is best that the batting power play is taken between the 35th and 40th over as there is a mandatory ball change in the 35th over in the innings. This will be a newer harder and more visible ball which would help the ball come on to the bat and could also be sighted with ease.

Cricket was first played over a span of five days between a few teams like England, Australia and South Africa. This five-day format is called test cricket. Soon, other countries too joined in and started playing cricket, taking it as a serious sport.

Test cricket was at its peak until the first ever 60-overs one-day international match was played between Australia and England at MCG in January 1971. Soon, this format of the game became so popular that the first limited-overs World Championship of Cricket was played in England just four years later, which West Indies won.

Ever since then, the one-day game has been prone to changes. For example, in the 1980s, the ICC reduced the amount of overs in a limited-overs fixture from 60 to 50, making the game more interesting for spectators. And till today, a one-day international (ODI) game remains a usual 50-over affair.

Since the era of commercializing cricket perhaps began in the 90’s, it was expected that the ODIS would be a hit among sponsors as well, who would be willing to advertise as viewers across the world are glued to their television sets watching a cricket match intensely as ever. More World Cup tournaments were held with coloured clothing introduced in the 1992 edition of the World Cup, which was the idea of Kerry Packer, the Australian who advocated cricket with coloured clothing as early as the 70’s.

White balls were introduced, making it possible to host day-night matches using white balls. Soon white balls were given the thumbs-up to be used in day matches as well which even required new, black sight-screens. Thus the one-day game became a favourite amongst every cricket lover.

But then came perhaps the golden phase of cricket. In 2003, a new version of limited overs cricket called the T-20’s was introduced in England. This format meant that unlike matches in which each team had to bat 50 overs, here the teams have to bat just 20 overs each or 120 balls in simple terms.

This implied that matches would get over quickly and runs would be scored at a faster rate. Twenty-20 became a hit in England and thus like the one-day game was spread across the world. And it has also become internationally-acclaimed when the ICC introduced the T-20 internationals concept in 2005. Since then, T-20 has taken the world by storm. It has reached heights as spectators would be more willing to watch a much more exciting and short T-20 game rather than a relatively boring and a longer 50-over game.

So the question rises – Can the 50-over survive for long?

It may not, as the inaugural T-20 World Cup in 2007 in South Africa, saw a large number of audiences in the stadium as well as on television, bettering the 2007 50-over World Cup in the West Indies by far. And to top it, India won the T-20 World Cup, resulting in more fan-following as India is a popular team in most cricketing countries.

As a matter of fact, the T-20 was a mode of cricket getting globalized and not just commercialized through India. Soon, the Indian Premier League (IPL) followed which was the Indian cricket board’s (BCCI) brainchild. And this tournaments played between the top 8 cricketing cities across India, became a hit amongst viewers across the world as well as international players in the first edition itself in 2008.

Then Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, made sure that the tournament took place in South Africa in 2009 despite security threats. South Africa, too embraced T-20s like never before. Looking at this, other countries like England and Australia are planning to form their own tournaments based on the concept of IPL as cricket then would reach to a new level in the countries due to the dwindling interest of people there in the one-dayers. The ICC too is reckoning whether the IPL must have a place in the future tours programme (FTP), which is basically the international cricket calendar.

However, the one-day game still has a place in cricket even if cricketers give importance to either test cricket or T-20s. The one-dayers determine whether a batsman is wholesome, i.e, if he can defend as well as attack, reacting to the situation as demanded. It shows whether bowlers are skilled enough to face challenges in test cricket. It tests the pressures of fielders, therefore one-dayers can determine fielding standards of a team.

So, the one day game can survive as long as the ICC gives meaning to it in its FTP. It could foster national pride within players as well rather than they wanting to play in tournaments such as the IPL. Or like Sachin Tendulkar suggested that the one-day format could be further revamped by making it like a longer T-20 in the test style where each team bats 25 overs in two innings each and are followed by strategic time-outs.

This makes the scoring rate faster like the T-20s and could rekindle the interest of audiences across the world. Perhaps more matches could also take place with top one-day teams clashing against each other, such as India, Australia and South Africa. The ICC has tried to make the one day game survive by the successful organizing of the Champions Trophy every two years in different countries. They have also taken a risk by making the game batting-friendly by allowing 20 overs of the power play for the batting side, i.e. fielding restrictions.

However, the one day format of cricket is falling apart thanks to all countries accepting T-20’s as the future of the game. T-20’s seem to be a practical way of playing cricket these days. With events such as the IPL, the one day game is nowhere at the moment. Even Tendulkar’s idea will take time to be implemented by the ICC and accepted by people warmly.

Reducing ticket prices won’t help if people aren’t interested and patient in watching 50-over cricket. So, its true that cricket needs to respect the 50-over format and recognize players appropriately for their achievements, like in the 90’s. The 50-over game can survive if the ICC doesn’t act like a puppet to the BCCI and respects the quality of cricket rather than the money involved in it. In fact, I believe that if 50-over cricket will grow money if its quality is good enough to appeal fans across the world.

It’s been over 100 years since the game’s inception—a lot has changed. The game has swayed from bowlers to batsmen. Some of the factors deciding this could be:

Placid wickets: Flat decks are found in most stadiums across the world. This is due to the commercialization of the game as people like to see more runs scored. As the era has moved on, we see a gradual change from uncovered to covered pitches. In the times of English opener Geoffrey Boycott, the pitches were uncovered thus making batting extremely difficult.

However, in the recent era, pitches are covered to protect from adverse weather conditions. A stat to confirm the above – in the 1990’s, only Sachin Tendulkar, Steve Waugh, Brian Lara and XYZ averaged over 50 after playing 20 Tests where as in the 2000’s there’s been a increased rise in the number of batsmen averaging over 50.

Rules:
In order to help batsman take advantage of the new ball, the ICC, after the 1983 World Cup, introduced field restrictions which basically meant that only two fielders would be allowed outside the 30-yard circle for the first 15 Overs. This was tweaked a little when in 2005 when the power-plays were introduced which is an extended version of the field restrictions.

One bouncer per over: To add to this, in 1992, in order to control the aggressive nature of the bowlers, the ICC introduced the one bouncer per over rule. Not a very famous rule amongst the commoners, the ICC had banned bouncers for a 7 year period. However, they re-instated the rule. Thank goodness for that!

Free hit: The inception of the free hit in 2007 just after the Twenty-20 World Cup only added to the agony of the bowlers. Yet, another rule in favour of the batsmen. The free hit means that if the bowler oversteps, the batsman has an opportunity to play a big shot without any fear of being given out. The only possible way of getting out is a run-out. And worse, one run is already added to the batting team’s total (no ball).

Equipments: One of the ongoing issues that has sparked off a debate amongst experts being the size of the cricket bat. Bat widths seem to be growing year after year. The fact of the matter being if that can happen; then why can’t something be done to the 5 and a half ounce cherry. Why isn’t the ball made smaller/lighter? Why favour the batsmen?
The ICC is still to answer this.

Ground sizes: Grounds in South Africa, West Indies and New Zealand are too small in size thus leaving the bowlers with no margin for error.

One of the major reasons to this (batting friendly game) is the sponsors. Take for case Test cricket. The sponsors in order to fill in maximum commercial slots try and take the game to 5 days which doesn’t happen on a green wicket. The ICC needs to take heed of this and make cricket a contest between bat and ball and not a ‘video game’.