The 'cowboy game' saw the light of day, because Test cricket at times was becoming a big yawn or a bore, what with the action uninteresting and unexciting which sent spectators looking for action more exciting.
Not to allow the turnstiles at Test matches to rust, some enterprising characters put their bats aside and got their brains working and in the process got another concept of the game going and that was the now very popular and thrill-a-minute instant cricket.
With new innovations, thanks here to that enterprising Australian entrepreneur Kerry Packer, who had great cricketers such as Richie Benaud, Ian Chappell and Tony Greig to show him how, night cricket came into being. Big money was offered and today there are lots of things to be won which make cricketers rich men overnight, thanks to the jam-packed houses that flock to watch this game.
Then if this type of cricket is to continue to grow and bring in the big money for the players, the officials and the respective Cricket Boards, playing conditions, especially wickets that give the contestants a fifty-fifty chance to entertain the crowd are essential.
Not to provide wickets of that nature, will mean to bring an early end to the game, which will have the spectators in a quandary, thinking of switching their interest to some other field.
And that will not be long in happening, if what took place in the final preliminary game in the Standard Bank Triangular tournament between South Africa, in SA and Sri Lanka continues to be enacted.
The host team provided a wicket that saw an early end to the contest whichever side batted first. Being a match that would decide who would enter the final, the large crowd that flocked the Blomfontien ground from the early hours of the morning wanted a thrill-a-minute action and both teams had the gladiators to provide just that.
What was unacceptable and the question posed after the game was: With SA already in the final and the Sri Lankans pushing for a final slot why was such an uncertain wicket provided? It did not allow the batsmen to play freely and allowed the bowlers complete domination.
Don't get me wrong. I am not trying to find excuses for our team's defeat. But facts must be faced. Had a fifty-fifty wicket been provided it would have been a different ball game.
But what began to unfold as the game progressed was a mockery perpetrated on this cricketing goose that was laying the golden egg. The game turned out to be a farce and the organisers who realised their folly, and with the game poised to end early, thereby depriving the spectators of their moneys worth, quickly and surreptitiously organised a double wicket bash to appease the spectators. Aravinda de Silva and Sanath Jayasuriya knew that they were down for the contest when they saw their names being flashed on the scoreboard. Good that they refused to play. That was a slap enough on the face of the organisers because that became an even bigger joke. World Cup champions must not be treated this way.
We would not want to flog a dead horse. But we hope the Proteas will learn.
With the Sri Lankans gearing themselves to show their excellence in this type of game and maintain their world champions tag, to think or imagine that some of the players would have a late night bash on the eve of the game was unimaginable.
Not wanting to get involved in this late night bash garbage, we would like to cite manager Duleep Mendis as an example. Mendis who usually enjoys a can of beer, abstained from drink and kept away from his favourite dish - beef - and was observing the lent.
The team loves Mendis. So would not he have been a good influence and prevented them from having a late night on the eve for the all-important game against South Africa which game they had to win to have a fling in the final?
In this aspect, I still treasure the advice given me by that late great Aussie leg-spinning-googly sensation Tiger Bill O'Reilley when I asked him what the job of a cricket writer is.
O'Reilley told me: Your job begins once the player enters the field. Praise him or take him apart on what he does on the field. Once he leaves the playing arena, he is none of your business.
Need I say more!