[BBC]How cricket has changed since it was last televised live on the BBC – and why you should tune in

The cricketing world was a different place when the BBC last televised an England cricket match live.

You’d have choked on your Jolly Ranchers if you saw an England batter switch-hitting, scooping or ramping.

And you’d have laughed into your enormous mobile phone if you heard news of an England team winning an Ashes series or World Cup.

That’s because in 1999 – when current England players Sam Curran, Ollie Pope and Zak Crawley were just one – Shane Warne was spinning Australia to World Cup glory after England, captained by Alec Stewart, embarrassingly went out in the group stage.

Elsewhere in the world of sport, Manchester United had just won the treble, while Manchester City were being promoted from the third tier.

Stephen Hendry had won his seventh and final World Snooker Championship and Serena Williams won the first of her 23 Grand Slam singles titles two months later.

What has happened since 1999?

It’s been a rollercoaster for England cricket fans with more painful World Cup exits and woeful Test performances offset in spectacular style by the 2005 Ashes win, a rise to number one in the world in 2011 and World Cup wins for both the men and the women in 2017 and 2019 respectively.

But perhaps the most drastic change is how the game itself has evolved.

When viewers tune in on Sunday afternoon, they won’t see batters getting their eye in, bowlers hitting the same line and length ball after ball, or less-than-athletic fielders stumbling around the outfield.

Instead they’ll see big hits from ball one, extreme pace and mystery spin and the type of acrobatic, athletic fielding you’d probably have associated with just one man in 1999 – Jonty Rhodes.

Why? The invention of T20 cricket has sparked cricket’s most exciting and innovative period for a generation. In T20 cricket, anything and everything is possible.

The format, first played in this country in 2003, is unpredictable. Afghanistan are the only side to record 10 consecutive wins (twice between March 2016-17 and February 2018-September 2019) whereas in one-day cricket a 10-game winning streak has been achieved 24 times.

Saying that, 50-over world champions England have won their last five series in the shortest format of the game – by an aggregate score of 10-3.

Under Eoin Morgan, England would have been one of the favourites heading into this year’s now-postponed T20 World Cup, while Pakistan were ranked number one in the world until recently.

Individually, both sides have plenty of stars – Babar Azam, Pakistan’s opener, is the highest ranked batsman in the world while England’s Dawid Malan and Eoin Morgan occupy sixth and seventh place in the standings.

Both sides also have two bowlers in the top 10 bowlers in the world.

So clear your diary and sit down for three hours of thrill-a-minute cricket. And just like in 1999, the BBC is the place to watch it.

In the meantime, try our little quiz about cricket in 1999…