ICC and CA back day/night Tests
Roar Rookie By Jsteel, 31 Oct 2012 Jsteel is a Roar Rookie
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- Cricket, Cricket Australia, ICC, Test cricket
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In a move that is sure to boil the blood of some purists, Cricket Australia announced it was investigating the prospect of day/night Test matches after being given the all clear from the ICC.
The prospect would see host nations choosing such details as ball brand, colour and hours of play, which would still remain at six scheduled hours.
Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland conceded one of the major issues in the new format is a viable ball, as red balls are deemed too difficult to see at night time and white balls currently lacking the ability to last the appropriate 80 overs.
“Finding a Test ball that is as easily visible in the day as it is at night is still a technical work in progress that the ICC is leading,” he said.
“The traditional red ball is not regarded as suitable for night cricket because it is not as visible at night as it is in the day, and the ODI white ball is not suitable for Tests as it is not as durable as the red ball and does not last as well as a Test ball needs to last.”
Sutherland said that experiments with colours such as pink, orange and yellow where promising for the future.
The move is aimed at expanding Test audiences in terms of both both crowds and TV viewing.
With a full length Test match being played on at least three week days, the move is seen as appropriate to expand these audiences as Tests often clash with school and working days.
The announcement appears to have been met positively, with several major news outlets publishing seemingly positive reports. However, there are concerns that the Test match format is not appropriate for night time as it is not ‘exciting’ enough.
Sutherland, however, believes that ‘cricket’s premium format’ is currently limited by staging itself when viewers often cannot watch.
In any case, with both ICC and Cricket Australia backing it, it’s likely the format will be at least trialed in coming years, with the only hindering factor the search for an appropriate ball.
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October 31st 2012 @ 8:42am
Chris said | October 31st 2012 @ 8:42am | Report comment
Ok thats great, but the laws of physics are your biggest issue at the moment.
October 31st 2012 @ 9:26am
josh said | October 31st 2012 @ 9:26am | Report comment
Laws of physics? More probably chemistry.
October 31st 2012 @ 11:55am
Chris said | October 31st 2012 @ 11:55am | Report comment
It’s a bit of both.
October 31st 2012 @ 9:47am
Don Corleone said | October 31st 2012 @ 9:47am | Report comment
This is a good concept and I don’t think it’s the big deal some people will make it out to be.
I’d like to see games played from 1pm – 9pm so people who’ve worked all day can watch the final session. I doubt whether the tests will be played under inky-black skies but the lights would suppliment the daylight savings twilight.
My suggestion would be play the first two sessions with a red ball and the evening session with a pink ball which could be artificially aged for continuity.
Being telecast in prime time means improved engagement, profile and revenue for cricket’s most enduring format. If it happens, it will be part of test cricket’s adaption and evolution which it has been undergoing for 140 years.
October 31st 2012 @ 10:20am
TheGenuineTailender said | October 31st 2012 @ 10:20am | Report comment
I don’t like the concept of changing the ball like that. One of the fundamentals of test cricket is maintaining the condition of the ball.
October 31st 2012 @ 10:41am
Don Corleone said | October 31st 2012 @ 10:41am | Report comment
I don’t think it’s a major issue, the ball gets changed occasionally in a game for various reasons.
I think there is some sort of tumbler (or similar) to replicate the amount of overs bowled. The umpires could have a box of pink balls of varying condition to replicate the red ball at the end of the second session.
October 31st 2012 @ 11:00am
TheGenuineTailender said | October 31st 2012 @ 11:00am | Report comment
Still doesn’t sit very well with me.
October 31st 2012 @ 3:49pm
Timmuh said | October 31st 2012 @ 3:49pm | Report comment
The ball gets changed basically due to loss of colour or shape, but gets replaced one of similar wear. If none can keep their colour, there won’t be any of similar wear to replace a ball with.
The other issue is one of ground conditions. A move to day/night will see pressure put on unsuitable venues (heavy dew, or whatever else) to play day/night Tests or lose Test cricket. That’s not such a big issue in Australia, but could severely detract from the cricket in some places. In some places, where summer sunset is quite late, play could go later anyway. Assuming a clear day, lights would possibly not be needed in Hobart for an 8pm finish for example. The red ball could still be used and Nine would get some prime time play. This might be a first step that could be taken without changing the ball or the traditional whites.
The thing that worrieds me the most is that administrators seem to be really pushing for it, and there is a very big chance they will go ahead with it despite things not being ready. The reports out of Aouth Africa regarding the pink ball were not good, yet that still seems to be the best yet. It would seem to be years off being ready, but administrators (especially in Australia) seem willing to push ahead almost immediately.
October 31st 2012 @ 10:21am
TheGenuineTailender said | October 31st 2012 @ 10:21am | Report comment
The eastern states all love the WACA test with it’s prime time final session. Being able to do that with other tests could certainly work.
October 31st 2012 @ 10:41am
Matt F said | October 31st 2012 @ 10:41am | Report comment
Absolutely. The WACA test is probably my favourite test of the summer (apart from the Sydney test as that’s where I live) simply because of test cricket in prime time
October 31st 2012 @ 10:40am
Matt F said | October 31st 2012 @ 10:40am | Report comment
I love the concept but clearly the ball issue is a major problem that needs to be solved before it happens.
October 31st 2012 @ 10:45am
Ben Carter said | October 31st 2012 @ 10:45am | Report comment
Hi Jsteel – initial reaction? NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! Considered reaction – possibly. If we can find a suitably-agreed-on type of ball and session times. Personally, I’d leave Boxing Day/New Year’s in Australia well alone. But sure, some might think that Australia v Zimbabwe in Hobart (for example) could well be enlivened with attendance beyond 6pm… I’d prefer twilight Tests to start with (say 12-8pm) rather than a 2-10pm slot. I wouldn’t play every single Test into the night though – otherwise it’s another point of difference that ODIs have lost, really…
October 31st 2012 @ 11:02am
TheGenuineTailender said | October 31st 2012 @ 11:02am | Report comment
I think it would mainly be reserved for tests that aren’t played in school holidays. So that would be the Gabba test and possibly Hobart.
October 31st 2012 @ 11:06am
Matt F said | October 31st 2012 @ 11:06am | Report comment
That would be a good way of doing it. Throw in Adelaide as well depending on whether they host an early or late test. They’re match seems to move around depending on who is out here at the time.
October 31st 2012 @ 11:08am
TheGenuineTailender said | October 31st 2012 @ 11:08am | Report comment
Yeah I forgot to mention them. The WACA test is already eastern states prime time. The Boxing day and New years tests are well entrenched in the holidays, so most people are free to go watch.
October 31st 2012 @ 12:47pm
Jsteel said | October 31st 2012 @ 12:47pm | Report comment
Hey Ben, yeah that was pretty much the same reaction as me. I still personally enjoy a day watching the cricket, and id choose going to a test match over a ODI/T20 any day. I like the idea by some people of having typically more low drawing test matches in the day/night format, but leaving matches such as the WACA, MCG and SCG alone, although I’d still prefer to see all tests played during the day.
October 31st 2012 @ 1:33pm
Brian said | October 31st 2012 @ 1:33pm | Report comment
If we are talking 12-8 you could that with Boxing Day now, there’s always light at 8 anyways.
I don’t think night tests have much to do with local audiences, more that 11-6 AEST is midnight-7am in England and about 4-11am in India, however 3-10pm AEST is 4-11am in England and………..10-5 during the day in India
November 1st 2012 @ 6:51pm
Timmuh said | November 1st 2012 @ 6:51pm | Report comment
I wonder how plastered Bay13 would be by 8pm, you can guarantee they will still start at the same time with the breakfast beers.
October 31st 2012 @ 1:39pm
Matt F said | October 31st 2012 @ 1:39pm | Report comment
There’s no way they’d move the WACA test time. It’s already perfect for the TV in the Eastern states. There’d be no point moving it back by any more than one hour or so.
October 31st 2012 @ 11:23am
Jason said | October 31st 2012 @ 11:23am | Report comment
As usual on the Roar there are several articles on identical topics going at the same time. Here is what I posted on the “Red” half version of this topic:
Just last week CA were virtually telling Kookaburra that their services were no longer wanted and instead Duke was the way of the future.
Now they want Kookaburra to come up with a suitable day-night ball.
In any case, this is a terrible idea. Night cricket is a lesser form of cricket. We’ve tolerated it for ODIs and T20 because they are mostly meaningless contests where the lesser standard of cricket wasn’t really an issue.
Not that I’m worried. They’ve been struggling to find an appropriate ball for night cricket for over 20 years. I don’t see them doing it again in the near term. And even if they do, it will surely require a season or two of testing.
Also, night Test cricket will be unwatchable in parts of India and Sri Lanka where evening dew is a problem not to mention parts of Australia where there are inevitably evening storms in the summer.
If we are so worried about TV audiences for Test cricket, we’d be better off playing every test in Perth (except the Sydney test of course).
October 31st 2012 @ 11:47am
Don Corleone said | October 31st 2012 @ 11:47am | Report comment
After researching the subject, the consensus seems to be that the pink ball is the most appropriate for the concept. The pink ball was trialled in England this season and it will be used in some first-class and List A matches in South Africa, New Zealand, Bangladesh and UAE.
I think saying that night cricket is a ‘lesser form’ of the game is a bit of an over-reaction. Rugby League and Australian Rules were traditionally played in afternoon light, are they any less of a sport because they play at night under lights? A day/night or twilight test will only be played under artificial light for between a quarter and a third of the day’s play.
November 2nd 2012 @ 12:12am
Jason said | November 2nd 2012 @ 12:12am | Report comment
They used the pink ball in the Sheffield Shield in the 90s. Michael Slater played in a few of those matches and said it was terrible.
The comparison to league and AFL is misleading. They are not sports where one side or the other can get such a massive advantage from playing conditions. I think playing a session under lights will be such a different proposition to a session played in the day that you will get skewed tactics that take away from the pure cricket.
In any case, I think RL and AFL are better when they are played in daylight.
October 31st 2012 @ 11:25am
sheek said | October 31st 2012 @ 11:25am | Report comment
Day/night tests is something I’ve been banging on about probably ever since I saw how well it worked way, way, way, way back in 1978/79 during World Series Cricket (WSC).
Some of you younger guns would be incredulous to learn that we had day/night test cricket way back 34 years ago. Just goes to show that sometimes there’s nothing new under the sun.
Heck for all we know, the ancients probably played various forms of night sport. And I’m going back not hundreds, but thousands of years!
So naturally I support this initiative 500%. Coloured clothing & white or yellow balls (I can’t remember which) seemd to work very well. Now we have even better lighting & improvements in pitch preparation, so really, what’s all the pussy-footing around?
Administrators & players both continue to say test cricket remains the ultimate, but the rhetoric doesn’t match the intent, when it’s obvious to all & sundry the huge resources, payments & revenue returns going into T20.
If test cricket is so important (& by association Sheffield Shield, County Championships, etc) then for heaven’s sake, invest in it.
If this requires tinkering with test cricket to make it more culturally friendly with today’s society’s demands, then so be it. Radical change isn’t necessary.
I suggest 4 day/night tests instead of 5 days; max 28 hours (4 D/Ns x 7 hours) instead of 30 hours (5 days x 6 hours); coloured national clothing; appropriate coloured ball; streamlined ticketing arrangements – full day, part day, per session, etc).
Even with these minor adjustments, what you see on the pitch will still be test cricket, but more appropriate to the 2000s.
November 1st 2012 @ 4:40pm
Rabbitz said | November 1st 2012 @ 4:40pm | Report comment
Couldn’t have been 34 years ago Sheek… I am not that old, Oh, wait
Ooops
October 31st 2012 @ 11:58am
Chris said | October 31st 2012 @ 11:58am | Report comment
The most obvious way to deal with the day/night ball issue is to keep the regular red ball and triple the amount of lighting at the ground.
Expensive yes, but at least it is a solution that is actually achievable (the mythical pink cricket ball is a decade off at least).
October 31st 2012 @ 12:28pm
matt h said | October 31st 2012 @ 12:28pm | Report comment
Dew might be an issue in some partsof the world, as it would tilt the playing conditions at night compared to the day. Also, you wouldn’t do it at venues like the Gabba, as you’d potentially lose the last session each day to thunderstorms. But having said all that I thihk it should be tried. We cannot be so precious as to never change a thing, otherwsie tests would be trhee days, or timeless, 8 ball overs, different no-ball and LBW laws, bats no better than a piece of old wood, no over-arm bowling etc. Cricket has always evolved.
October 31st 2012 @ 1:16pm
Jason said | October 31st 2012 @ 1:16pm | Report comment
Usually it evolves for the better.
Other than TV, it is hard to see how night tests are an improvement to the actual game.
October 31st 2012 @ 1:35pm
Matt F said | October 31st 2012 @ 1:35pm | Report comment
It probably doesn’t improve the actual game but it could improve people’s access to the game.
From a spectator POV it could possibly make it easier to actually attend the game. Some people may decide to come in after work to see the last session or so while others may be able to work a half day and see the whole day of cricket. It can be difficult to get time off depending on when the match is being played. It’s not a major issue for Melbourne or Sydney as their tests are around the xmas/NY holiday period but the others generally aren’t.
Even if people don’t attend they can watch the last session on TV when they get home as opposed to missing the whole day.
November 2nd 2012 @ 12:05am
Jason said | November 2nd 2012 @ 12:05am | Report comment
But they get to watch inferior cricket.
I really don’t see the point.
October 31st 2012 @ 1:36pm
Brian said | October 31st 2012 @ 1:36pm | Report comment
Won’t bowling at night just be another factor. Nearly every test match is affected by different conditions for each team – the toss, the pitch, the umpiring, surely dew is just another variable. In fact you could say where unlike a ODI where you can bowl first and let the other side’s bowlers worry about dew in a test match its much harder to know who will be batting at the end of the day
October 31st 2012 @ 1:32pm
smithha said | October 31st 2012 @ 1:32pm | Report comment
Agreed. Evolution is for the best. Imagine clocking off work on a Friday arv, head into the Gabba (in my case) and see half a day of cricket while the sun sets and the lights turn on. The ball issue will be resolved.
October 31st 2012 @ 2:14pm
Christo the Daddyo said | October 31st 2012 @ 2:14pm | Report comment
For many parts of the world this won’t actually be an issue. Most of England, Hobart and Melbourne could all play cricket well past 6pm without reaching for the lightswitch.
It will be interesting to see how many Tests actually get played under lights.