The game of cricket has involved a lot in recent years, and the introduction of inventions has made this sport more entertaining to watch and has gained many viewers in past years because of it. But not all inventions were successful and made it big in the game, and we will look at some of them and talk about cricket inventions that didn't last.
1. World Series Cricket
This was like IPL of 1970s, where the coloured jersey, white balls, better technology, player contracts were used for the first time in the history of the sports, this was started by then Australian tycoon Kerry Packer in 1977, the format was same as the two years before inaugurated world cup, this series was the closest to the current world cup. It had two seasons but it had to be shut off as there was a reconciliation between Kerry Packer and the cricket boards.
2. The Mongoose Bat
The bat made headlines in the cricket world in 2010, when then CSK batter Matthew Hayden came out to bat in the IPL using this bat, and this bat was the talking point of the time, it was created for this format only. This bat gave much more power and swing while you were attacking the ball, but with that it also led to players not to able to control the bat and would usual mistime the shot, and the players were not a big fan of it, which led to its extinction from the format.
3. Roofs With Stadiums
In other sports, there is a high possibility you might have come across a stadium with retractable roof to not interfere with the game, and this is the same as when cricket tried it for the first time, when in 1997 Docklands stadium was inaugurated with it being 8 meters or 125 feet above the ground. The first international cricket match was between Australia and South Africa, and since then only five more matches are being played, it is the home to Melbourne Renegades in the BBL. The roof made it difficult for the fielders and would usually disturb the game, and they decided not to continue this.
4. Bowl Outs
This attracted a lot of viewers during its initial stage, as it gave suspense as it was like a penalty shootout in football with the same rules, and a bowler has to bowl at the stumps. It was first played in the NatWest Trophy in June of 1991, but it gained a lot of viewers when it was used between India and Pakistan in the T20 world cup in 2007, where India won it 3-0. It was replaced by super overs later as there was no interaction between the audience.
5. Use Of Runners
It was used alot in the first decade of this century, as batters would be injured and would be replaced by runners, this received a lot of criticism from people, as players misused this rule and tried to use for their own benefit, as they could fake their injury to get a faster runner, this set an example of unsportsmanship behavior, so because of that the ICC decided to remove the rule in 2011, to make the game more fairer for both the teams.
