The times, they are a-changing

One of the great things about cricket is the way that it has evolved over its existence.

From adding an extra stump, to modifying bats and protective gear, what you can and can't do to wickets (glue? Cliff Gladwin would be incredulous...) and the techniques for playing the game.

If you want an example of how the game has evolved, even in a relatively short time frame, here's a look back at a game that had some similarities to the one on Monday against Nottinghamshire, but from 35 years ago.

It was July 2nd 1978 and Derbyshire played Glamorgan in a Sunday League 40-over game at Chesterfield. That was the plan, but the weather had other ideas and the ground staff had their work cut out to get any sort of game underway. Time passed but eventually it was agreed that the 2pm start could eventually get underway at 5.20pm, the game accordingly reduced to ten overs a side.

The were no fielding restrictions at that time, no powerplay and teams could have nine on the boundary if they chose to do so. Nor were there the more stringent limitations on bowling spells and Derbyshire's top four of Barlow, Borrington, Kirsten and Cartwright could have faced only two bowlers if their opponents chose to do so.

As the yearbook of the time recounts, Barlow and Borrington 'rattled the score along' with 33 in 18 minutes from six overs, before the innings ended with a score of 62-4 from the ten. By modern standards that would be deemed a cakewalk, but bats had edges then, not sides and the innovative shots that open the game up today were unknown. 

Besides, Derbyshire had Mike Hendrick and Eddie Barlow to bowl. The former kept one end going, while Barlow took over after Colin Tunnicliffe was presumably deemed expensive with two overs for fourteen.

Glamorgan's reply? 44-4 in ten overs. Their opener Alan Jones, who had played for England in 1970, batted through the innings for 23 not out, while Hendrick recorded figures of 5-0-13-1 and Barlow 3-0-12-1. Both those players would have been brilliant in modern T20, though I doubt that the Welsh fans would let their star opener off lightly were that scoring rate replicated today...

We won by eighteen runs, very similar to the winning margin of sixteen on Monday. Yet the game, the techniques and the regulations were poles apart  from that enjoyed today.

At least the result was right though and I would give a lot to see those names back on Queens Park just one more time...