Question

What changes did the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) bring in cricket in the second half of the century?

Answer 1

Hint:The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) published a first revision of the laws in 1788, which brought in a series of changes in cricket in the second half of the 18th century.

Complete answer:
Marylebone Cricket Club was founded in 1787, taking as its home a cricket ground set up by the ambitious entrepreneur Thomas Lord staged his first match – between Middlesex and Essex – on a ground on Dorset Fields in Marylebone. The following year, MCC laid down a Code of Laws, requiring the wickets to be pitched 22 yards apart and detailing how players could be given out. Its Laws were adopted throughout the game – and the Club today remains the custodian and arbiter of Laws relating to cricket around the world.

(i) During the 1760s and 1770s, it became common to pitch the ball through the air, rather than roll it along the ground. This change gave bowlers the options of length, deception through the air, plus Increased pace. It also opened a new possibility for spin and swing.
(ii) A curved bat was replaced with the straight one.
(iii) The weight of the ball was limited to between 5 1/2 to 5 3/4 ounces and the width of the bat to four inches.
(iv) In 1774, the first leg-before law was published. A third stump became common around this time.
(v) By 1780, three days had become the length of a major match. The first six- seam cricket ball was also created by this year.

Note:As mentioned above while many important changes occurred during the nineteenth century (the rule about wide balls was applied, the exact circumference of the ball was specified, protective equipment like pads and gloves became available, boundaries were introduced where previously all shots had to be run and, most importantly, overarm bowling became legal) cricket remained a pre-industrial sport that matured during the early phase of the Industrial Revolution, the late eighteenth century.