Formats of the Cricket
Playing cricket is a favourite pastime of Indians, especially youngsters. However, following a sport is not the same as betting on it, so it is necessary to delve into the rules and format of cricket to be successful in online betting.
The aim of this cricket guide is to inform you about the 3 main cricket formats and how they work. Let’s start!
Cricket Main Formats
Test Cricket/First-Class Cricket
The very first format of cricket that’s believed to be the closest to the original form. In the early days, test matches were “timeless”, it means, each team could bet as long as they could retain the wickets.
The first official test match was between England and Australia in 1877. The venue was the legendary Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). In the first decade of the 20th century, ICC was formed. It was known as the Imperial Cricket Conference during that time. England, Australia, and South Africa were the only 3 members.
It wasn’t until the end of WWII that more teams outside the commonwealth started becoming members of the ICC. Currently, 12 countries are full members and all of them have permanent test status.
Technically speaking, test cricket belongs to the First-Class Cricket category. First-Class simply refers to the team utilizing its full potential, instead of benching the good players.
Initially, the rules of the game dictated that a test match must go on for at least 3 days, played during the day only. According to the current rules, a test match has 5 days to complete. If the team batting the 4th innings can retain wickets until the match expires, it’s a draw. A draw is only possible in First-Class cricket.
One Day International (ODI)
Did you know that the first ODI match was circumstantial? It means that neither the players or the management planned to play the match this way. It was supposed to be a traditional Test match.
We are talking about the 1971 Test series between England and Australia. It was the third Test of the series when rain fell heavily on the Melbourne Cricket Ground. So much so that the match could not even start for the first 3 days. When the rain abated, it was decided that each team would bowl 40 overs with 8 balls per over. And instead of batting 2 innings, both teams would bat 1.
The real development of One Day International Cricket came from Kerry Packer, an Australian media mogul. He decided to create his own format of cricket, known as World Series Cricket. From the late 1970s, the ODI began to gain popularity around the world.
One-day international cricket is part of the limited overs cricket category, 50 overs (6 balls per over). In this format of the game, a draw is not possible as a result, but a draw can occur.
In the event of a draw, the match goes to a Super Over in which each team bats and bowls for one over. The total score of the super over determines who wins the tie-breaker.
Twenty-Twenty (T20)
The invention of the T20 is the most exciting thing to happen to cricket in recent times. It is now the most popular format thanks to its speed and excellent sportsmanship.
Interestingly, the first international T20 match was between the Australian and New Zealand women’s teams. A year later, between the same teams, the men’s version took place. T20 is a game of leagues rather than the international scene.
A T20 match is similar to an ODI match, except for the length of each innings. Both teams play with 11 players and the match starts with the usual toss. Another notable difference in this form of cricket is the attitude of the players. As a team has all 10 wickets but only 20 overs to bat with, all batsmen try to play aggressively from the start.
T20 matches often end in drama and this is one of the main attractions of the sport in India. Also, it’s popularity contributed directly to the birth of the India Premier League (IPL), the largest domestic cricket league in the world.
Other Cricket Formats
The Hundred
Have you heard of “The Hundred” format in cricket? Just like all the other formats we know so far, this is a proposal by England. It’s not yet used in the international scene, but you never know what the future may bring.
The “Hundred” in this format of cricket is the number of balls, for both innings! This makes it the fastest form of cricket to date. Each team gets to play 50 balls only. The number of balls in an over is also changed to 5 or 10 for this one. It’s the bowler’s call. Each bowler can bowl up to 20 deliveries in an innings.
This is not one of the mainstream cricket formats just yet. So, it’s unlikely that you’ll find any markets to bet on. But be sure to keep your eyes open for future developments.
