In Focus | Cricket News | ESPNcricinfo.com

Racism

Despite cricket's multicultural history, the game has long been blighted by racism. Racial segregation denied late 19th century fast bowler Krom Hendricks a chance to play for South Africa. In the 1960s, the Basil D'Oliveira affair precipitated South Africa's 22-year sporting isolation for its apartheid policies. Tony Greig's infamous statement in 1976 about making West Indies "grovel" is well known, as is Dean Jones casual, off-mic "terrorist" remark aimed at Hashim Amla, and the Monkeygate scandal of 2008. More recently, the Black Lives Movement has forced a reckoning within the game, with boards committing to change as cricketers have spoken up about their continuing experiences with racism and marginalisation.

May 26, 2023: Bans for Ballance, Bresnan, Gale as CDC announces Yorkshire racism sanctions | Jun 5, 2023: Colin Graves withdraws from running to become Yorkshire chair

Corruption in cricket

Though betting on cricket was common in the 19th century, cricket's biggest match-fixing scandal was unearthed in 2000, when Hansie Cronje admitted he had accepted money to throw matches. Players from other countries were also implicated. Since then, even as cricket has gone about strengthening its anti-corruption mechanisms, instances of fixing have cropped up frequently. In 2010, three leading Pakistan players were banned and jailed on fixing charges. In 2013, three Indian players, among them Sreesanth, were arrested for spot-fixing in the IPL.

May 22, 2023: ICC charges local Indian umpire with breaching anti-corruption code | May 23, 2023: West Indies batter Devon Thomas suspended for corruption

Technology in cricket

For a game as steeped in tradition as cricket is, the question of how much to rely on technology is a perennial - and at certain points over the years has proved an increasingly complex one, as new technologies have been unveiled. The Decision Review System, introduced in 2008, took about a decade to gain widespread acceptance - if not always trust and support across the board among players and administrators.

May 15, 2023: ICC scraps soft-signal rule for contentious catches | Jul 17, 2022: Captains should be suspended if their teams can't bowl 90 overs a day

The future of ODIs

The growth of Twenty20 cricket has raised serious questions over the utility of the 50-over game, and concerns for its future. Though it is still the currency of the two main ICC tournaments, some boards have already shortened their domestic format. Suggestions for change have been plenty and even the ICC is thinking about tweaking the format.

Apr 7, 2023: Will IPL franchise owners swallow international cricket whole? | Apr 9, 2023: The rise of T20 poses cricket a number of questions it must answer

Security concerns

The attack on cricketers and match officials in Lahore in March 2009 brought into tragic and dramatic focus a trend that began in Sri Lanka in 1987, when New Zealand abandoned their tour after a car bomb in Colombo killed 100 people. Nine years later, Australia and West Indies refused to play their World Cup games in Sri Lanka citing danger from the ongoing civil war. Subsequent series to be affected include New Zealand's tour of Pakistan in 2002, Australia and West Indies' tours of Pakistan the same year (eventually played at neutral venues), South Africa's tour of Sri Lanka in 2006, which was truncated halfway, England's of India in November 2008, when the ODI series was cut short by the attacks in Mumbai, and India's proposed tour of Pakistan in 2009.

Feb 18, 2023: Karachi terror attack won't impact PSL, says PCB chief Najam Sethi | Jul 29, 2022: Explosion in Kabul stadium injures four Shpageeza Cricket League spectators

Pitches

Over the years the endeavour has been to take pitches out of the equation for ODIs and Twenty20s, by making them flat and uniform, so that the toss does not play a crucial part in the shorter format. In Tests, though, the preparation of the pitch and its durability are much more significant, impacting the result and duration of the game. Quite naturally pitches and their preparation in the longer forms of the game evoke a lot of comment and often controversy.

Feb 6, 2023: Shastri: 'I want the ball to turn from day one' | Mar 14, 2023: BCCI files appeal with ICC over 'poor' rating given to Indore Test pitch

Cricket rules

Cricket has never stopped evolving: from round-arm bowling becoming the standard, to the 15-degree rule for arm flexion while bowling. From the number of balls per over to the specifications of equipment - ranging from glove-webbing to bat handles - almost every aspect of the game is regulated. New rules are frequently put in place - especially in the shorter forms of the game, as in the case of Powerplays, free hits, and the tweaking of field restrictions.

Jan 19, 2023: MCC removes 'ambiguity' in non-striker run-out Law in wake of Adam Zampa incident | May 15, 2023: ICC scraps soft-signal rule for contentious catches

Run-out controversies

Running out a non-striker who has left the crease before the ball is delivered has been a legitimate form of dismissal long before Vinoo Mankad got rid of Bill Brown thus in a Test in 1947 - leading to the act being referred to as "Mankading". But while it may be legal, is it really fair and in keeping with the often mythical spirit of cricket: that is the essence of the debate that crops up every time a bowler exerts their right to dismiss a batter who has been taking unfair advantage backing up.

Jan 19, 2023: MCC removes 'ambiguity' in non-striker run-out Law in wake of Adam Zampa incident | Apr 12, 2023: What does cognitive psychology have to do with non-striker run outs?

Umpiring and technology

Questions of how the use of technology sits beside umpires have sprung to life frequently since the late 20th century. The advent of the DRS in 2008 was controversial at the start, but a decade on, most had accepted it was there to stay. Increasingly the rules of the game have been tweaked to allow for referrals to the third umpire on matters that were previously the purview of the on-field officials.

Jan 15, 2023: Non-striker run outs and catches close to the ground shouldn't be as complicated as they are | May 15, 2023: ICC scraps soft-signal rule for contentious catches

Ball-tampering

Players are barred, by Law 42.3, from rubbing the ball on the ground, interfering with its seam or surface, or using any implement that can alter the condition of the ball to thereby gain unfair advantage. There have been plenty of ugly incidents centring on accusations of ball-tampering through cricket's history: the John Lever "Vaseline" affair in 1976-77; the times England and New Zealand accused Pakistan of it in the early 1990s; Michael Atherton's admission that he used dirt to treat the ball against South Africa in 1994; and perhaps most infamously, the Oval Test of 2006 when Pakistan forfeited the match because they were accused of having tampered with the ball.

Nov 21, 2022: Warner - 'I'm not a criminal. You should get the right of an appeal' | Dec 8, 2022: Warner's manager claims Australia were 'told' to tamper with ball after Hobart loss in 2016-17

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