5 Things that have changed drastically in international cricket since the 1990s
The 1990s witnessed the rise of cricket like no other decade had ever seen. It was the generation in which many of the world’s greatest players - Sachin Tendulkar, Wasim Akram, Shane Warne, Brian Lara - made their mark in the game. The 90s was also a highly competitive decade in cricket, witnessing three different winners of the World Cup.
Those were the times in which scores of above 250 were considered match winning and fielding/fitness took a backseat. People used to throng the stadiums for even test matches and the popularity of the 50-over game was at an all-time high. However, in a span of just two decades the game has grown by leaps and bounds and has changed dramatically.
We take a look at 5 things that have undergone rapid change during the past twenty odd years.
#1 State of West Indies cricket
West Indies was the team to beat in the 1980s and early 1990s. The team went 15 years without losing a Test series. A bowling attack of Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh, Ian Bishop was a joy to watch. The bowling was well supported by the likes of Brian Lara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Carl Hooper with the bat. It was the last competitive team we saw from Caribbean islands.
Throughout the 2000s, West Indian cricket declined, owing largely to the failure of the West Indian Cricket Board to resolve a dispute with the players’ association, coupled with the general economic decline in West Indian countries, and has lead to the team is struggling to regain its past glory. The current team is struggling to offer any sort of resistance and has been facing humiliating defeats at the hands of some of the minnows of the game.