Cricket over the years have undergone several revolutions but none so as great and popular as this. It was on this day 17 years ago T20 cricket was born. England, often credited to be the pioneer of cricket, was where the shortest format of the game was first played. With audience dwindling and country cricket taking a back seat from being a popular sport in the country, a worried England cricket board (ECB) looked for other options to revive the make cricket attractive again. The game first attained proper shape in 1877 when Test cricket came into being. A five-day match was far better than endless days of cricket before a result could be derived. 'Virat Kohli Crescent', 'Sachin Tendulkar Drive', 'Kapil Dev Terrace': Township in Melbourne, Australia Names Streets After Cricketers

Test cricket’s slow-paced nature, the twists and turns each day saw and a brief exchange of fortunes until final glory attracted masses and remained popular until life seemed to be running ahead and cricket for once looked to be left behind. Cricket fought again and reshaped itself to survive the ravages of time. One-day Internationals (ODIs) was introduced in 1971. Far from cricket matches of five days, the prospect of seeing results, flurry of boundaries and fast-paced cricket matches once again made cricket interesting.

But by late 90s it looked to become sedate again. In 1998, England put out the prospect of introducingT20 cricket as the latest format in the game. But 20 from 50 and a three-hour match from 8-9 looked rather ridiculous and the matter was dropped. But with their revenues shrinking, England delved into the matter and invested on it through public surveys before determining on its own, T20 cricket was certainly the future of the game and the next cricket revolution, a rigid establishment was unwilling to undertake and risk the natural flow.

June 13, 2003, eventually sees county cricket taking the baton for hosting the first T20 match through the Twenty20 Cup. Eight teams played on the same day and it changed cricket forever. Surrey Lions beat Warwickshire Bears by nine wickets to win the inaugural tournament.

An experimented version in the first year, Twenty20 Cup gained more attraction in its second edition with Lord’s also hosting a match, which went to become highest attended county cricket game in England at the mecca of cricket. Soon T20 cricket travelled the world, the minds and cricket was never the same again.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 13, 2020 03:33 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).