Has there been 8 balls to an over in cricket ever?

Answer 1

Assuming that test matches went for the same time (not necessarily starting at 10:30 or 11:00 and going to 5:30 or 6:00, but lasting for seven hours), in an uninterrupted days play, we can calculate how many eight ball overs were bowled in a day.

This question will give varying answers. Teams either move faster or slower through their overs depending on whether they bowl spin bowlers or pace bowlers, and how many wides or no balls are bowled. For the calculation, lets assume they bowled the equivalent of 90 six ball overs, thirty per session.

90 six ball overs means a total of 540 balls bowled throughout the day. If they bowled in eight ball overs, then the number of overs would be 540/8, which is 67.4 overs, halfway through the 68th over.

Answer 2

In 1922, the number of balls per over was changed from six to eight in Australia only. In 1924 the eight ball over was extended to New Zealand and in 1937 to South Africa. In England, the eight ball over was adopted experimentally for the 1939 season; the intention was to continue the experiment in 1940, but first-class cricket was suspended for the Second World War and when it resumed, English cricket reverted to the six ball over. The 1947 Laws of Cricket allowed six or eight balls depending on the conditions of play. Since the 1979/80 Australian and New Zealand seasons, the six ball over has been used worldwide and the most recent version of the Laws in 2000 only permits six ball overs.

Answer 3

there was a long time ago, like back in the bradman days i think