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Day-night Tests one step closer

30th June, 2014
26

They have a concept, they have a venue, now they just need to find the ball.

Cricket Australia and New Zealand Cricket on Monday announced they had progressed plans to stage the first ever day-night Test match in either Hobart or Adelaide in November 2015.

The discussions come after the ICC paved the way for member countries to work together on staging Test cricket under lights.

The pink ball remains an issue, however, with Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland saying they would continue to test different brands in Sheffield Shield cricket this year before giving the historic Test the green light.

“We used Kookaburra pink balls in our Shield trial last year. We are continuing to trial other balls – Dukes balls have been used in other parts of the world,” Sutherland said.

“We obviously have the intent of getting the ball as close as possible to in terms of how they behave to the red ball.”

Sutherland admitted the strong push for day-night Test cricket had stemmed from TV ratings for Perth Test matches.

He said figures showed the later timezone bumped up nationwide audiences by 40 per cent – and they’re aiming to have the proposed Test finish at about 9.30pm (AEST) each day.

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“We believe that’s evidence of itself that we’ll get greater viewership and more opportunities for people to attend,” he said.

He said the “ultimate aim” of Cricket Australia was to make Test cricket more popular.

“The last thing we want to do is see Test cricket wither on the vine,” he said.

New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White added they weren’t worried about “messing with the traditions of Test cricket”.

“Since Test cricket was played in 1876 there have been significant changes,” White said.

“Covered pitches, over limits, fielding restrictions, introduction of helmets, changing of the no-ball law.

“As administrators we must keep evolving.”

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Day-night match testing will take place in round two of the Sheffield Shield in 2014.

Sutherland said the Gabba would need to improve their lighting before Brisbane could be considered as a location for day-night Tests, while Perth’s timezone has ruled it out of being a possible location in the future.

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