Indoor cricket the future of the game?

Turn the cricketing clock back 23 years. News filters through from Australia that Kerry Packer's newly formed World Series Cricket will feature players wearing coloured clothes. Not only that, matches would be played at night with white balls and black sight screens and on artificial pitches.

For the traditional fan of a conservative game like cricket, this was almost sacrilege. For a hundred years, international cricket was played during the day, with players in white flannels, exhibiting their skills on natural pitches with red balls and white sight screens. The purists were scandalised while the cynics were convinced that all these were short lived novelties. This was particularly true of India where the fanatical fans followed the innovations with more than a fair share of curiousity. At the same time, they were sure that these would not last and cricket would always be played the traditional way.

But then as later events have proved, Kerry Packer was a pioneer, a visionary. However, cricket worldwide has been averse to change and it was some time before fans and administrators came to terms with the fact that these innovations were here to stay. Indian cricket officials have been particularly slow in reacting to changes. The first Gillette Cup match was played in England in 1963. It was not until 1973 that the first one day domestic tournament - the Deodhar Trophy - was inaugurated. The first one day international was played in Melbourne in January 1971 but the first such game in India was held only in November 1981. Night cricket was introduced by Packer's World Series Cricket but the floodlights were seen for the first time in India only during the 1983-84 season.

In the last two decades, we have had, in addition, the appearances of helmets, TV officials, neutral umpires, match referees. Cricket has certainly undergone a sea change, particularly in the last quarter of a century. Where is the changing face of cricket going to lead the game in the next 25 years? Well, the three match series between Australia and South Africa at the Colonial stadium in Melbourne, which commenced on Wednesday, may possibly throw up a few pointers. There have been a few exhibition matches played indoors in the past but this is the first ICC approved one day international to be played indoors and maybe we are looking at cricket's future. Certainly we cannot afford to shrug it off as we did when Packer came up with his innovations in the late seventies. Once bitten, twice shy.

The 250 million dollar state of the art stadium was essentially built for Australian Rules football but following a few changes, the venue was ready to play host to the three match series. Like in any new venture there are concerns surrounding low lights hindering batting and catching and a wet outfield making bowlers and fieldsmen cautious. One remembers similar fears about playing under lights in the early days of night cricket. Yet there is no mistaking the sense of excitement and anticipation among the players. ``This is something different and exciting. I am looking forward to the concept,'' said Steve Waugh and the Australian captain has played almost 300 one day games in the last 15 years. ``We are going to be part of history. It's almost a different form of the game playing indoors and we will be the first. Maybe in 100 years time they will look back and say this is the time one day cricket really took off.'' Waugh is of the view that playing under a roof is the future of the game. ``The people, when they turn up, know they are going to watch cricket rather than the possibility of rain interrupting. It is frustrating for a crowd to be at the ground when there is no play, the sun's out but the ground is still wet. This will take out that element,'' he said.

So what's next? Test cricket under a roof? Why not, anything is possible. There has already been talk for some time of having Test matches at night, something that Colin Cowdrey advocated during his term as ICC president. Waugh has even endorsed the possibility of night cricket under the roof though Australian Cricket Board chief executive Malcolm Speed has already made it clear that Tests will continue to be played at traditional venues. But the way cricket is moving, one thing is sure. Very soon, the time honoured phrase associated with the game for centuries - `rain stops play' - may soon disappear from the reporters' jargon.