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Next year’s Adelaide Test is set to become the first ever day-night Ashes Test, with England reportedly agreeing to play the fixture under lights with the pink ball.
England have yet to publicly confirm the historic match, however the Sydney Morning Herald is reporting an in-principle agreement has been reached between the two sides.
It is also believed that the summer of cricket will revert back to having the first Test of the season played at the Gabba in Brisbane.
This year saw the opening match in Australia’s three-Test series against South Africa played in Perth at the WACA, however the match didn’t provide the success in the stands or on TV which was expected.
The day-night Test between the two sides in Adelaide, on the other hand, did prove to be a boon for both broadcasters and the Adelaide Oval, with more than 125,000 people streaming in to watch the game live over its four days.
Much like their English counterparts, Cricket Australia is remaining tight-lipped on the matter, with a spokesperson saying the 2017-18 schedule is not due to be announced for a few months.
“We expect to be in a position to announce this schedule over the coming months once agreements are in place,” the spokesperson said.
However, the spokesperson did admit they are looking at pencilling in day-night Tests for future summer schedules.
“We have two day-night Tests this year and ongoing scheduling of day-night Tests in the Australian summer is a natural progression. The Ashes is a great contest and attracts huge audiences both at the ground and on television, but nothing has yet been confirmed for next summer.”
The shift towards a day-night Ashes Test marks a shift in the attitude from both sides compared to earlier in the year.
Opposing Ashes skippers Steve Smith and Alastair Cook both made it clear earlier this year that their preference was to play all five Ashes Tests in 2017-18 as traditional red ball matches. However, Smith did recently change his tune on the topic.
“I think in Adelaide it (a day-night Ashes Test) could certainly work,” Smith told AAP.
“The wicket down there, what (curator) Damian (Hough) does with that wicket and all that, he knows what he’s doing. It could certainly work there.
“I’ve always said we need to get the product as right as we can and the ball in as good a shape as we can and I think they’ve made some good improvements with that.
“This year’s game was outstanding. Slightly less grass than the year before and it was almost the perfect Test wicket. There was enough in it for everyone; both bat, ball, the ball spun.
“So it was a wicket for everyone and that’s what you want to see; an even contest.
“I think it’s certainly here to stay.”
Australia will play their second day-night Test of the summer against Pakistan at the Gabba later this month, while England will play their first ever pink-ball Test in August next year against the West Indies.
Reported 2016-17 Ashes schedule
1st Test: Gabba, November 23
2nd Test (day-nighter): Adelaide Oval, December 2
3rd Test: WACA, December 14
4th Test: MCG, December 26
5th Test: SCG, January 4
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