A Brief History of Cricket Down Under: Changing of the Guard

It is the dawn of a new decade and as the 90s roll-in cricket starts to get bang for its buck with the arrival of pay TV. Innovative ideas in player development, the commercialisation of the game and the arrival of a group of once in a generation players level-ups the sport like never before.

Three nail-biting thrillers happened when Australia found itself in the rare position of needing one win to claim their first test series over the West Indies in more than a decade.

By the early 90s as players moved between test and limited overs cricket, some players excelled becoming one-day specialists and these mavericks ultimately transformed the game.

Cricket is a team game, but the very nature of the sport means two players can combine in a partnership where their power is far greater than when they stand alone.

During the early 1990s a dramatic shake-up was happening in cricket's international pecking order and the shift saw some old rivalries go off the boil, while new ones emerged that ignited a new excitement on and off the field.

Cricket may be a team game but occasionally a single player can produce a performance with the bat or ball that's so sublime, all we can do is lean in and be amazed at the effort.

As the 1990s rolled-in it brought new beginnings for the sport of cricket but it also was a time for important endings to some glittering cricket careers that had nothing left to prove.

There were many great team rivalries on the field during the 1990s, but there were many more fierce individual clashes that produced legendary battles and spectacular on-field theatre.

During the 90s a group of players appeared on the scene whose influence on the game was mesmerising and their mercurial magic was so powerful it impacted teammates, results and even the rules of the game.

As a consequence of the changes propelling cricket into a new professional era, player development improved along with the quality of matches and this occasionally produced mind-blowing individual brilliance as well as entirely unexpected results.

Leadership in the 90s was a crucial factor in the success of teams and winning and losing would often come down to the qualities and character of the captain.