HISTORY

          The idea of limited - over cricket was conceived by an M.C.C. commitee established in 1956 to remedy the decline in the attendences and the desperate financial positions of many first-class counties during the late fifties. Its proposal, that a one-day knock-out tournament be introduced. With the start of the Gillette Cup in 1963 in England, a new eara had dawned in popularising this instant version of the sport.

         Interestingly, despite its popularity in England in the sixties, the first ever one-day international match was brought about by chance. A hastily arranged match between Australia and England, was played at Melbourne on 5 January, 1971, on the final schduled day of the rain-aborted Ashes Test match to compensate the disappointed public for the loss of cricket. Thus began a new revolution in international cricket, in a match which attracted a crowd of 46,000 spectators and produced receipts of A$ 33,000.

The I.C.C., sensing the crowd pulling potential of the one-day form of the game, soon organised the first-ever World Cup which was held in England in 1975. However it was the advent of Australian television magnate, Kerry Packer, which revolutionised this type of cricket. Innovations such as floodlit (day-night) matches, white balls, black sightscreens and coloured clothing, coupled with skilful marketing strategies have produced instant exitment.

Today one-day international matches are so popular that they are played at every nook and corner of the globe. Sharjah (UAE) became cricket's first out-post in the mid eighties and has the unique distinction of hosting most matches than any other country. International matches have also been played at Singapore and Kenya.

However there has been a proliferation of matches during the recent times. In 1996, a record 127 matches were played, with Pakistan alone playing in 39 of them. One sincerely hopes that this proliferation does not become detrimental and one-day cricket die a natural death.