4 Experimental cricket formats before 3TC to have featured star players

1. Double Wicket Cricket:

Double Wicket Cricket remains one of the most revolutionary forms of the game where a pair of two players will be considered as a team. Though the existence of the format dates back to early decades of the 18th century, this form of cricket began to be popularized in 1990 when star players of top nations played. A double wicket tournament sponsored by Pepsi was played in October in Mumbai.

India had two pairs taking part while the remaining six active Test playing countries let a pair of two top players. The league stage was of four overs aside while the semi-finals and the final saw an increase to six and eight overs respectively. The two players would be allowed until they get out ten times and each dismissal would cost five runs. The Indian pairs Kapil Dev-Sachin Tendulkar and Ravi Shastri-Mohammad Azharuddin reached the final of the tournament.

The 17-year-old Tendulkar was the star of the final as he scored 75 from 33 balls with six maximums and five fours despite getting out four times. Tendulkar and Kapil aggregated 95 runs for the loss of five wickets. This meant their final total was 70 after deductions. In reply, Azharuddin-Shastri pair made only 27 runs as they scored 62 runs for the loss of seven wickets.

The format became a successful venture by late 1990s with World Championships being played in Pakistan, West Indies and also in the USA. A couple of championships between 1997 and 2003 featured some of the top cricketers across the globe. Pakistan was easily the most successful team in those competitions as the board allowed some of the big names to take part. The deductions on the loss of a wicket during these championships came down to three runs.

Winning pairs in some of the Double Wicket World Championships:

1997, Lahore – Shahid Afridi and Aaqib Javed

1998, Lahore – Shahid Afridi and Azhar Mahmood

2001, New Jersey – Wasim Akram and Shahid Afridi

2001, Lahore – Imran Nazir and Shoaib Malik

2003, St Lucia – Jacob Oram and Daniel Vettori