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Future Twenty20

Shape of Things?

By Trevor Gard's Box June 27 2008
Some strange relation to a part of Trevor offers us a vision of cricket as it may be. The future is bright but it doesn't seem to be orange.... Do I believe it? Makes no real difference it isn't my view of the shape of things to come but it sure is an interesting one.

Twenty/20 IN 2060 - A SHORT STORY OF THE FUTURE....

Posted by: Trevor Gard's Box (80.169.45.54)

Date: 20 June, 2008 16:46

My in-vision scanner bleeped to tell me it was noon as I stepped off the public trolley-cruiser to spend some time at the Stanford. The Stanford Country Championship was on a laser-edge as the four UK Conference Champions League (UKCCL) teams contested the last few weeks of the 164-match season.

Today's Stanford match at the adopted St. John's Wood home of Stanford (now known as "Allen's Arena") was an epic encounter between the South Eastern Electrics and the Vodaphone-Talk-Easy-One-to-One North Westerlies. These great rivals were locked in a double-header where television coverage had started some time in the early hours of the morning and the reports on BBCSky Sports 8 had persuaded me that this would be an exciting contest. I joined the long queue at the ground and was grateful that I had purchased a premium priority ticket so that I could bypass the majority of the general public and Stanford lovers who wanted to pay in Eurocash at the Grace/Pietersen Gates.

Some were even carrying old style food hampers although I knew that these would shortly be confiscated by security. The MCC bar-code on my left forearm and my "egg and bacon" lapel pin allowed me to sweep straight through the electronic barriers and in to a holding pen where my clothing and personal effects were put through an x-ray device and airport scanner in order to ensure security and an acceptable standard of dress. Those attempting to wear unacceptable clothing or life-size costumes of Walt Disney characters were condemned to put on regulation grey overalls. Ever since the "Cartoon Character Riots" of 2018 it had been necessary to carry out this spectator inspection before entry in to the ground.

I joined the next batch of citizens to enter "Allen's" and was provided with the match-day contract. The contract was standard terminology and having had my attorney review it already I was happy to sign without reading all the small print. It basically confirmed my intention to behave, make no noise beyond applause at the tolerated level, not to invade the ground, not to eat or drink unauthorised consumables, not to form myself and/or others in to threatening or hostile groups and not to play any form of musical instrument. It also required that I would not talk to those next to me unless given indication that this was welcome and that I was not entitled to any money back under any circumstances. Rain was no longer a problem since "Allen's" had been closed in with a sealed Perspex roof and the playing surface was now a synthetic non-slip, ultra-dry plastic.

At my seat and in place of a match programme an attendant provided me with a ring-binder of career statistics for those scheduled to play that day. I wouldn't have been surprised to find that Shaun Udal was still playing. I was impressed as always with the vast amount of data contained within this binder that was referred to everywhere as a "Wisden" especially as it went back to the days of 5 day Test matches and something intriguing called the "Pro40". There was even a separate section for something called the "Cheltenham & Gloucester" which was presumably a grand old team from the vintage age of velcro pads.

I also made sure to strap on my "Hawk-Vision" inter-active head-set in order to listen to the miked-up players heartbeats and pulse rate as well as the instructions being passed from the various coaches to each player. The game had already commenced by the time I sat down and the South Eastern Electrics' batting unit was on the field during a "Switch-hit-hot-zone-power-play". The current tactic is to have an entirely separate batting and bowling team although exceptional players like Frederick Flintoff IV could still make an impact in both disciplines. There was an early appeal for a catch that had been turned down but I didn't actually see the incident as I was still adjusting my head-set. I assumed that it must have been a catch as LBW's had been done away with years before after the infamous "Monty Panesar" ruling in the High Court.

It was difficult to tell which fielder had been involved in the appeal as they all wore the approved webbed fielding gauntlets and no other outer padding. There now followed a break in play at every even number of overs for an on-field product advertisement of some kind but the music from the band was distorted and the particular advert this time did not feature the usual dancing cheerleaders so most people took little notice. Sometimes even the contracted sponsored players joined in but not this time. I think it was something to do with a washing powder.

The score for the Westerlies stood at 100-3 which sounded a lot after 6 overs until you remembered that a 4 was now worth 6 and a 6 worth what was referred to as a "Perfect 10" by the David Mecha-Lloyd in the commentary portal. The smaller boundaries also helped as did the new sprung bats made from reclaimed Greenland willow. I chuckled at what cricket lovers from yesteryear would make of this new Stanford concept with the bigger stumps (plus that extra one), the shorter pitch and the softer ball. In fact, the ball wasn't only softer now (branded a "Duchess" ball as opposed to the old "Duke") but each bowler carried his own different coloured and sponsored one so that "Hawk-eye" could track it in real time as it came down the wicket towards the batter.

The game was undoubtedly quicker now that bowling was only done from one end and the batsmen each had a separate individual runner for the entirety of their "at bat". It also helped to ensure that the game did not run on too long that the fielding captain was not allowed to change the fielding positions of his players after the first over. Also new for this season was the power of veto (the so-called "Chance" card) in order that the batting skipper could reprieve his best player (male or female) if they were dismissed.

The game was moving quickly as a batter nominated a section of the field and then smashed the ball in to it thus earning double runs before the runners completed a successful crossing and doubled the runs again. That meant 16 was added to the score (or that's what I thought but it was hard to keep track) and the over had only just begun. Run rates and runs-per-hundred balls had become super-statistics these days requiring Duckworth (without Lewis) scientific calculations to keep up with them.

One batter-runner was nearly dismissed by run out, forgetting the old adage drummed in to every schoolboy in their "How to Play Cricket" virtual computer simulation that a ball is always "live" in Stanford and therefore a run out can happen at any moment. The Westerlies were now approaching a score of 300 with several overs still to go and one of the batters had to retire after a collision with his team-mate's runner. Almost instantly an automatic lift from under the playing surface brought his replacement on to the field of play through a trap-door with little time lost in the process. This was another innovation in Stanford as it was thought that time could be saved if the batting team did not have to walk on to the pitch every time a player was out.

As the sun reflected off the iron weather-vane in the shape of old father Boycott there was a lull in play whilst the drinks-girls came on the field. As I looked around "Allen's" it was a comfort to see the old media centre next to the new media centre underneath the brand new media centre. It was just a shame that the Mound Stand was no more as it had been knocked down to provide space for all the media centres. Even The Bob Willis Whine Bar and original Botham/Benaud confectionary stall had been demolished. At least the pavilion was still in place although due to the failure of a health and safety investigation nobody was allowed to sit in it any more. I marvelled at the things the old pavilion must have seen in the bygone "Golden Age" of Ashes Tests and before it was decided to raise the square on to a plateau so that the ball ran away towards the boundary more quickly in order to increase the scoring rate.

My in-vision scanner bleeped again to remind me I had an appointment for the annual renewal of my citizen ID card. It was time to go. I took a quick look at the laserboard for the score. I was not surprised to find that during the period when I had been day-dreaming quite a lot seemed to have happened.

Wonderful stuff TGB. Thanks for the effort.

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