For as long as I’ve been able to stick out an entire domestic one-day cricket match in the freezing temperatures of the early season, the powers that be have been experimenting with rules to make the game more fun and entertaining for the crowds. Some have been a resounding success, the heavily branded Twenty20 series playing throughout the world are clear evidence of this. Other mad-cap ideas have been rather more laughable, take Angus Fraser’s moronic idea to have substitutions - how that got through the ICC will always be Gus’ little secret.

Twenty20 wasn’t the first of its kind, I remember watching a domestic match from New Zealand called Cricket - shortened version like Twenty20 but where any runs scored in the V were worth double. In my mind CricketMax is far superior than the variety which has taken off; there is the potential to score twelve off a single ball which adds a whole another dimension to the game by virtue means there will be higher scoring matches - the spectator’s dream. If you’re going to change the game enough to create Twenty20 you may as well go the whole hog and make it as innovative as possible. I can only be assume the ICC could bring themselves to upset the chaps in the Lords taverners too much.

Ok, so the avid cricket fan from the 60-over Natwest Cup era may scoff at the crowds drawn in by Twenty20 and I’m willing to accept it doesn’t have everything the longer one-dayers do. For me the golden time in domestic cricket was when the Sunday League was in existence. On almost every Sunday you could head down to the county ground and enjoy an afternoon’s cricket but that’s all changed now. First it went up to 45 overs - a pointless addition in anyone’s book - and now they play on pretty much any day of the week except Sunday.

I have enjoyed the addition of the powerplays however, especially the most recent addition of the batting power play, it screws up all the existing stats (which is sad) but it gives us more attacking play and should have been brought in years ago. What’s also good is that captains are still working out the best tactics for using it. Admittedly that’ll all be over come summer when all the county captains see Ricky Pontin’s approach and quickly follow suit.

(In a 50 over match it should be taken in about the 38th over - they’ll figure it out soon enough!)