Cricket in the 21st century: 25 ways the game has changed

For their 100th issue, Wisden Cricket Monthly have identified 100 ways the sport has developed this century. Here are 15 things we have gained and 10 we have lost

Unblessed with much pace, staying agile lest they get left behind, the game’s seam bowlers are a resourceful bunch. The popularisation of the wobble seam delivery has been transformative for a new breed of trundler – we’re talking Vern Philander, Mohammad Abbas, Scott Boland, Sam Cook – whose innocuous pace is offset by an uncanny ability to land the ball on the edge of the seam so it jags away off its initial path. The delivery – first perfected by Stuart Clark, then adopted by Stuart Broad and memorably described by the great bowling coach Troy Cooley as a “dirty seam” – has helped to usher in an era of nosediving batting averages, where bowlers now hold sway.

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