Having just finished Cricket 2.0: Inside the T20 Revolution, I can’t imagine a book that is better-timed, and needed, for those of us seeking to understand cricket’s brave new world. Tim Wigmore and Freddie Wilde have given us an incredibly in-depth, well-researched look into not just T20, but really the state of the game generally, such is the impact of T20 on the sport.In Cricket 2.0 we get to hear many voices from across the cricket landscape; not only the expected key players and coaches, but also administrators and innovators, scholars and technical experts. Cricket 2.0 isn’t so much about T20’s great stars (although they are there), it’s really a drill-down that examines how we got to where we are and what this means for cricket, now and going forward.There are honest, unvarnished assessments of both the successful and the unsuccessful, backed by relevant data analysis. Chapter 12’s comparison of the operations of the IPL’s Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore is an illuminating study in what to do – and what not to do – should you ever find yourself running a T20 franchise.If you like the cerebral, tactical side of T20 cricket (like me), you’ll be pleased to learn how cricket is developing its own version of Sabermetrics to inform its player selections, game day decisions and even ball-to-ball strategies. Performances are now clinically examined by data professionals, with teams looking to gain every advantage possible from advance knowledge of statistical tendencies.There’s also a fair share of T20’s brief history in Cricket 2.0, including how the game has evolved and how that evolution has touched other formats. Both players and the bats they wield have become bigger and stronger, and this change is felt across the game, as is the growing prominence of spin bowling. The rise of a new cricket meritocracy is also discussed, with T20 becoming a golden pathway for Associate players like Rashid Khan, Sandeep Lamichhane and Ali Khan.A fair amount of space is given to issues relating to the Indian Premier League, and why not? It is accurately pointed out that the IPL is to cricket what the NBA is to basketball, and it seems as if the future of the game will not be unlike that of basketball, with the IPL being the pinnacle competition, while a few others function as a second-tier, and then a multitude operate as local developmental leagues. The rise of the IPL has also coincided with the shift in power from England & Australia to India, which increasingly becomes less reliant on international fixtures for its revenue. (Not long ago, Cricket 2.0 tells us, India’s domestic cricket supplied just 2% of its overall broadcast revenue. Today, because of the IPL, that is figure is 71%, and more Indians are watching local state tournaments on television than even the Big Bash League.)But India isn’t the only bastion of T20 greatness in the world. The chapter on West Indies cricket is a fascinating look at how street cricket there has become a factory for churning out T20 prodigies. The consistent stream of great Windies T20 players, largely coming up through a network of amateur and semi-professional competitions, some very loosely organized, raises hopes that the Caribbean may have found its long-term niche in T20. Test cricket stars of the past, such as Viv Richards, Garry Sobers and Brian Lara have been replaced by swashbuckling T20 kings such as Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell - fitting heroes for the times.Cricket 2.0 sounds a number of warning bells, too. The explosion in T20 matches that can be seen worldwide has brought with it an explosion in cricket betting, much of which is illegal – and unmonitored. This, of course, leads to fixing and the corruption of players, especially players on the fringe of professionalism who are just scraping by in cricket. Another burgeoning issue is doping, which up until now has been largely ignored in the sport and is probably the next great existential crisis on the horizon.The book also has the obligatory “All-Time XI,” to give fans something to argue over, but the more interesting social media fodder should come from Cricket 2.0’s “32 Predictions For The Future Of T20.” Many are obvious, such as “Greater Use of Data,” but some really got me thinking, such as “More Set Plays” and “Batsmen Retiring Out.” I guess I just love mulling over the strategic implications of a format where every ball is crucial. And of course, I was delighted to see “A T20 World Cup will be played in the US in the 2020s.”As someone who has experienced cricket exclusively as a promoter and administrator, rather than as a player, I am drawn toward accounts of behind-the-scenes strategizing and decision-making, and Cricket 2.0 did not disappoint. I came away both informed and intrigued, and actually even more optimistic about the future of the game.Cricket 2.0 paints a picture of cricket as becoming more democratic, more data-driven, and more accessible to Associate nations. Because I didn’t grow up watching international cricket, I suppose I am less emotionally invested in it, and so have no qualms about a world where club cricket dominates the schedule. And being an American, I also embrace a world of big hitters and even bigger scores. So, for me, the features included in "cricket version 2.0" is definitely worth the investment, as was this book.