Decoding the evolution of different formats of cricket
England's brand-new competition, The Women's Hundred, kicked off on Wednesday as Oval Invincibles Women beat Manchester Originals Women in the opening encounter. The 100-ball tournament, launched by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), features eight women's and men's teams. Over the years, a number of different formats have adorned the sport. Let us have a look at some of them.
The Hundred is ECB's flagship tournament that aims at making the game accessible for viewers through shorter matches that last less than three hours. Each side gets to bowl 100 balls in an innings. A bowler can deliver either five or 10 balls consecutively. One bowler can deliver 20 balls (maximum) in a game. The first 25 deliveries will fall under the powerplay.
Just like The Hundred, the ECB had introduced Twenty20 cricket in 2003. The 20-over format, first launched in the inter-county competition, was later recognized by the ICC as the third international format. Notably, the first men's T20 International was played between Australia and New Zealand on February 17, 2005. Meanwhile, New Zealand and England featured in the maiden women's T20I (August 5, 2004).
First-class cricket, which includes Test cricket, acquired official status in 1895. However, as per ESPNcricinfo, the first FC match was played in June 1772 between Hampshire and England. A typical First-class match spans for three or more days, wherein both teams can play a maximum of two innings each. Most of the Test-playing nations have their designated First-class competitions (India: Ranji Trophy).
The Ranji Trophy match between Chandigarh and Manipur in February 2020 marked the 60,000th First-class (FC) match in cricket history. Notably, the 50,000th FC match was played between Sri Lanka A and Bangladesh A in 2007.
List A cricket includes ODI matches and several domestic competitions. The number of overs in an innings per team ranges from 40 to 60. List A is one of the three major formats of cricket recognized by the ICC. The first match designated as a 'List A' was played between Lancashire and Leicestershire in May 1963 in the preliminary round of the Gillette Cup.
Among other formats, T10 cricket was introduced in 2017. The 10-over league, where the duration of each match is 90 minutes, was approved by the Emirates Cricket Board. In June 2020, the first-ever 3TC match (three-team cricket) was played. Three teams, comprising of eight players each, took part in the match. The match comprised 36 overs (two halves of 18 overs), including a break.
