Incidents that Changed the International Cricket Forever

Cricket is one of the most watched sports in the world with players who are immensely talented to bring their country’s name to the top. Since the first official international cricket match in the 19th century, it has come a long way and it has changed a lot. The attitude of the players towards the sport and the style of playing has witnessed drastic changes on the field. It is not only about winning a series or a match in international cricket, it is about consistency and maintaining a huge pool of talented players for the senior team.

In the current scenario, we are witnessing more aggression from players in all the formats of the game. The potential of an individual player gets challenged in every game and the limits are pushed with every ball. We bring you a collection of incidents that changed the future of international cricket.

1) World Series Cricket

The change started happening in 1977 when Kerry Pecker, the Australian Media Tycoon, invented World Series Cricket. The step was taken to rebel against the International Cricket Council and many well-known cricketers including Tony Greig and Clive Lloyd, joined the series and captained their respective teams. The World Series Cricket features three teams in their two-season run, i.e. West Indies, Australia, and England, and the trio played Test fixtures but those matches were one-day. However, the series was unable to sustain after 1979 but Kerry Pecker became a solid name in the sports entertainment business.

2) 1983 World Cup

India’s World Cup win under the leadership of Kapil Dev in 1983, was one of the biggest events that caused a major change in international cricket. Team India lifting the 1983 World Cup gave new hope to all the underdog teams in international cricket and Kapil Dev set up an example to the young generation from across the globe. A leader who led his team with examples during the group stage and motivated the whole team to reach the final game and defeat West Indies to lift the trophy. It also marked the beginning of something big in Indian cricket and put the country on the map of international cricket.

3) 2005 the Ashes Series

The Ashes is one of the biggest tournaments that takes place between England and Australia. It has a very deep and profound history with both teams giving their bets to win the series. Out of all the series, the 2005 Ashes series is remembered for a very special reason. Both England and Australia had well-balanced teams with some of the legendary players in the lineup. After 4 thrilling fixtures between the two teams, the 5th Test became the series decider. England was at its best and was expecting a win in the 5th Test but Australia had different plans as they wanted to bowl out England. On the fifth day, when England was 99 with 3 wickets down, Kevin Pietersen walked down the pitch and changed everything. However, one moment that changed the future of England in the Test format was Shane Warne missing the catch of Pietersen on Bret Lee’s bowl. Kevin went on to score 158 and saved England from an embarrassing result.

4) India winning the 2007 T20 World Cup

Team India stunned everyone after scoring a win in the first edition of the T20 World Cup in 2007 after defeating Pakistan. The last ball catch by S. Sreesanth on a bowl bowled by Joginder Sharma went down the history books and a new legend, MS Dhoni, was born who changed Indian cricket and international cricket forever. Indian lifted the T20 trophy, Nation was in awe of the team and the new format hence BCCI started the Indian Premier League which made a huge impact on international cricket.