Just like any other thing in this world cricket has also evolved and is no longer played in the same manner as it was a couple of decades ago. Having said that the conditions of playing cricket is also no longer the same. The equipments that are used these days are right out of the top draw and the grounds are getting smaller and smaller which literally takes the spinners out of the game.
The first equipment ever to be used in cricket was the abdominal guard which was introduced way back in 1874 and helmets came into being in the year 1974, exactly hundred years after the first invention. On a lighter note we can say that it took us hundred years to even realise that head is also important and not just the abdominal section.
The game over the years have gone through a lot a changes starting from 8 ball overs to six ball overs and from 60 over one-day matches to 50 over one-day matches. The pitches are no longer the same and these days we hardly come accross a pitch which is heavily in favour of the bowlers. It has become more of a batsmans'' game and somewhere down the line we have missed out to hit the right balance where there is a fair contest between bat and ball.', '
There are more result oriented Test matches after getting rid of the rest day and also with the emergence of one-day cricket and T20 cricket the run rate has improved to a considerable extent. Gone are the days when three per over run rate was considered very good as these days scoring 400 runs in a day of a Test match does not come with much of a surprise.
The pitches under the current circumstances has a lot to do with the decline of good quality fast bowlers which has become more of a rare commodity these days. It is hard to believe nowadays that there was a time when every other team had an out and out fast bowler who can be seriously quick.
The playing conditions have also changed over the years and the 15 overs field restrictions is now split into different parts of the game with the introduction of powerplays to make the game more exciting. Technology has also played its part and looking at videos of different players before a match has become more of a routine trying to figure out the strengths and weaknesses.
The pinch hitters were a very important part of the game in the nineties who used to come in at No 3 trying to up the ante and add some pace into the game. Pinch hitters are an extinct form and batsmen all around the world have become more aggressive, looking for the boundary every over which has also made a score of 300 in the one -day matches to be an average score and no longer a match winning score.
The game has become more fast paced and cricket is played all around year which was not the case just a couple of decades back and talking from a viewers prospective none of us mind it as long as it makes very good viewing and remains exciting.
