THE game of cricket has undergone revolutionary changes in the last 60 years. Five-day test matches have lost their charm. First, because nobody has time enough to watch a game for five days and, second, matches are boring and not result-oriented as many test matches end up in a draw.

Comparatively, ODIs and T20 matches are a delight to watch. If the ODIs and T20 were not introduced in time, the game of cricket might have died a natural death. Sponsors of the game very wisely introduced the ODIs and T20 matches in time.

The game of cricket must be made interesting for spectators. There must be a proper balance between the bat and ball. People watching cricket love to see batsmen smash the ball for a sixer or a boundary, while they want bowlers uprooting the wickets, along with outstanding fielding rather than defensive batting, resulting in very little activity on the field.

Cricket pitches in Pakistan and the Gulf are placid and dull, these must be greatly improved for entertaining cricket. One possible way of doing this is to introduce coir matting, which we experienced in the early days of cricket in Pakistan.

One day I was watching a cricket match being played by students in a street. They had put an empty crate of Coke to serve as a wicket The batsman had a bat (far narrow than a cricket bat resembling somewhat a baseball bat), no face guard, no pads, no gloves. The wicketkeeper again with no trappings. The bowler was bowling with a tennis ball. LBW rules very simple, no matter where you are and if the ball strikes your leg even if you are not covering the wickets ‘you are out ‘. Plain and simple. No need for costly equipment and defensive guards.

Maybe some day the game of cricket is further simplified like students who play in the streets.

Farhat Asrar

Karachi

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2015