Did you know cricket once had 8-ball overs? Discover the history behind the 4, 5, and 8-ball over formats and why the game was finally standardised to 6 balls in 1979.
Did You Know? Cricket Once Had 8-Ball Overs — Here’s Why It Changed (Image Source: X)
Ever stop to think about why a cricket over has six balls? These days, that’s just how it is, no matter if you’re watching Test matches, ODIs, or T20s. But honestly, things weren’t always this tidy. For more than a hundred years, the number of balls in an over bounced around, sometimes four, sometimes five, even eight, all depending on where you played. Cricket didn’t lock in the six-ball over until the late 1900s. So, how did we get here? Let’s dig into the story behind this rule and see why the eight-ball over disappeared for good.
| Country | 4-Ball Overs | 5-Ball Overs | 6-Ball Overs | 8-Ball Overs | Standardised (6) |
| England | 1880–1888 | 1889–1899 | 1900–1938 | 1939–1945 | 1946 |
| Australia | 1876–1887 | — | 1891–1920 | 1936–1979 | 1979/80 |
| India | — | — | 1932–Present | — | 1932 |
| South Africa | 1888/89 | 1891–1898 | 1902–1937 | 1938–1958 | 1961/62 |
| New Zealand | — | — | 1929–1967 | 1968–1979 | 1979/80 |
Australia was the strongest advocate for the 8-ball over. The primary reasoning was Efficiency and Rhythm.
Fewer End-Changes: Switching ends every six balls eats up time, usually about 30 to 45 seconds every time. When teams bowl eight balls before changing ends, they don’t have to switch as often, which means more actual playing time and a faster over rate.
Bowler Momentum: Some fast bowlers liked having eight balls in an over. Those extra two deliveries gave them more room to mess with the batter’s head, to set up something sneakier or draw them into a mistake.
If the 8-ball over was more efficient, why did it die? The answer lies in a mix of physical health and the Kerry Packer Revolution.
The "Kerry Packer Effect" (Broadcasting): When Channel 9 grabbed the rights to cricket during the World Series Cricket days, they quickly figured out that 6-ball overs just worked better on TV. The shorter overs gave them more chances to squeeze in commercials—and that meant more money coming in.
Physical Toll on Bowlers: Bowling eight balls in a row at top speed wears you out fast. Fast bowlers started getting hurt more often, and captains struggled to juggle their bowlers. Those longer overs made it tough to keep those short, fiery spells going.
Standardisation for Stats: It became nearly impossible to compare bowling averages and strike rates globally when one bowler was operating in 6-ball increments and another in 8.
Back in 1980, the MCC changed Law 17.1 and made six-ball overs the worldwide standard. These days, people see it as the sweet spot, and it works for a few good reasons.
While ICC sticks with the six-ball over for big tournaments like the World Test Championship and the World Cups, it’s just not up for debate. But ECB’s The Hundred, shaking things up with those five and ten-ball “sets.” Some traditionalists aren’t thrilled, but it proves that cricket still tweaks over lengths to juggle game pace and what players can handle. The six-ball over, though? That’s still sacred on the biggest stages.
