Preston bemoans "constant tampering"

Think we are in an era of vacillating cricket administrators obsessed with tampering with the game?

Yes? Well, you're quite right. We are. But it appears that other generations of cricketer and cricket follower had to put up with just the same perpetual meddling with cricket by the people who run it.

"For the past twenty years we have had one change after another," lamented Norman Preston, editor of Wisden, in 1967, "including the abolition of the distinction between amateur and professional, experiments on taking the new ball varying from 55 to 85 overs, declarations, limitations of the leg-side field, two years without the follow-on, boundaries limited to 75 yards, various pitch-covering rules, insistence of sight-screens on all grounds, numerous ways of reckoning the County Championship including number of matches played and, the final abomination, the limit of 65 overs for the first innings in some matches in 1966. Also the controversies over throwing and the bowler's drag, polishing the ball, bowler's run-up limited to 20 yards and permission to captains to forfeit their second innings.
Small wonder that the ordinary follower of the game has become so utterly confused. I always keep a copy of the latest Playing Conditions by me when I go to report a match and I would imagine that every umpire must have one in his pocket to keep abreast of the situation. And what about the players? Surely this constant tampering with the rules has been of little benefit to them?"