Sideline Sid Sports correspondant & historian www.sunlive.co.nz

Cricket stands on the brink of the unknown again, with the first day/night test match kicking off between the Black Caps and that team from across the ditch in Adelaide on Friday week.

The game has gone through dramatic changes since the early 1970s, with the introduction of the one-day game. It was World Series Cricket introduced by Kerry Packer in the late 1970s which turned the cricket world upside down.

Originally introduced because Packer wanted to break the stranglehold on television coverage, the Packer game introduced razzmatazz and coloured clothing as the rebels attempted to take over the game.

In 1978, World Series Cricket came to the Tauranga Domain where a WSC World XI played a WSC Australian side, with both sides having a who's who of world players of the time. Names such as Greig, Hadlee, Rowe, Lillee, Chappell, Marsh and Walters took centre stage on the Domain scoreboard.

Eventually, peace was restored, with the Establishment and Packer agreeing to share what has become a very large television audience cake. Test cricket returned as the main attraction before being rivaled and then surpassed by the one-day game.

However, it was the introduction of Twenty 20, just a decade ago, that completely rearranged how cricket is played.

Coincidentally, the first recognised Bay of Plenty T20 match was played in Tauranga on Waitangi Day in 2005, with Otumoetai Cadets, who were the reigning National Club Champions, taking on a Bay of Plenty Invitation side.

A schoolboy Kane Williamson took his place in the Invitation side, which also included Black Cap Llorne Howell.

While T20 gained momentum for a time, the game is now at a crossroads, and questions remain around which form will take centre stage in the foreseeable future.

Maybe test cricket played at night will grab the attention, however television audiences in places like Australia, England and India will ultimately decide which form of the game dominates coverage in the future.

Whatever happens, T20 has completely changed the approach to all three forms of the game from batsmen and bowlers. Before smash and bash cricket ratcheted up the scores, one-day match targets of 260-odd were seen as a huge scores to chase.

The introduction of the IPL in India and the Associated Leagues such as New Zealand's Georgie Pie Super Smash have seen batsmen attack the bowling from the opening ball. This has transformed ODIs into matches where sides can post 400-plus targets in their turn at bat.

It will be interesting to see if the day/night test matches continue and whether the pink ball remains as part of the equation. One thing that has been continuous since the game began is tradition, with the pink ball a huge departure from the past.

Go the Black Caps!