I think this is something that has been missing amongst an otherwise very varied and rich fare that CW serves. I intend to put here, the historical perspective on all aspects of the game and how each element has evolved over time.
Since there is, by far, the greatest enthusiasm in comparing the greats over the last 150 years of the game (although we should include another century before that to understand its evolution fully) I think it is important to have a record in one place for the changes that have taken place over time. One finds a lot of confusion, for example, about how the wickets and their management (covering etc) have changed over time. The other day there was clearly some doubt about the under-arm, round-arm and over-arm bowling and so on.
I will try and take up one subject at a time and put a time line on the evolutionary process, its causes and its effects. I think this is the bare minimum one needs to know to be able to objectively understand what were the conditions facing players from different eras and how it affected their performances and, for the modern fan, what kind of influence this might have on the relative stats for different eras.
I hope this is both informative and fun
