Wisden Cricket Monthly marks 100th issue with look at cricket's changes

The magazine's milestone issue lists 100 developments in cricket this century, including 15 gains and 10 losses for the sport.

Wisden Cricket Monthly is marking its 100th issue with a feature identifying 100 ways cricket has developed since the turn of the century. The package separates those changes into 15 additions the sport has gained and 10 that have been lost.

One development the magazine highlights is the wobble seam, a delivery that has reshaped fast-medium bowling. Bowlers such as Vern Philander, Mohammad Abbas, Scott Boland and Sam Cook have used it to compensate for modest speed, landing the ball on the seam's edge so that it deviates from its expected line.

According to the feature, Stuart Clark was the first to refine the delivery, with Stuart Broad later taking it up. Bowling coach Troy Cooley famously labeled it a "dirty seam."

The piece argues that the wobble seam has contributed to falling batting averages, producing a period in which bowlers have gained the upper hand in the game.