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.
Nicco
Guest
Glow in the dark technology exists and developed to a high standard will achieve amazing results. I have tried with a number of cricket ball brands, but told it was too novel to continue to develop. No further funding or development took place just closed doors. This stuff works, just needs some backing. It's where tradition meets the future. Get it into the backyard first for testing then into JNR level and training. If you ever needed a product to help cricket get played outside of summer. It seems that the traditional sports in this country are reluctant to try new technologies, in the aim of moving the game(s) forward. I developed a specialised glow PU(-charge+) to be used in the manufacturing of sportsballs. We tested it with Aussie Rules, with the aim being to assist clubs with poor or insufficient lighting at training. Any thoughts?
Timmuh
Roar Guru
There's nothing wrong with cricket making money, so long as the sport isn't compromised in the process. The proliferation of limited overs cricket has done that. Moving to day-night Tests prematurely, without a couple of years of successful testing of the ball, or in climatic conditions unsuited to the move also compromise the sport. Maximising revenue without compromising the sport is a fair aim, risking the very essence of the sport for a very few short term dollars (which may not eventuate anyway) is far from smart management. There are also many fans of both the AFL and NRL competitions who would gladly accept less TV money in favour of fairer fixturing, both on field and financial. All of our major sports have lost sight of the sport, and only have eyes for the short term dollars. In some cases it may come back to bite them very soon, as fans drop off sports which have no sport left in them. (The AFL may be coming close to this, with the complete lack of integrity in the fixturing it is becoming increasingly difficult for some fans to see the league as a fair competition.)
Jason
Guest
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.
Jason
Guest
But they get to watch inferior cricket. I really don't see the point.
Timmuh
Roar Guru
I wonder how plastered Bay13 would be by 8pm, you can guarantee they will still start at the same time with the breakfast beers.
Rabbitz
Roar Guru
Couldn't have been 34 years ago Sheek... I am not that old, Oh, wait :) Ooops
Don Corleone
Guest
Neuen, what is the problem with cricket making money? Why is it that when the AFL and NRL sign huge TV rights deals it's celebrated as a sign of success but when cricket tries to increase it's revenue... it's being greedy and just interested in money-making? I can't understand the attitude of some cricket fans. Cricket isn't state-run like the ABC where if no-one watches it and it's completely unsustainable, doesn't matter, it will still be there. The majority of test cricket series are currently financially unsustainable. Cricket can't apply for Centrelink, it has to maintain revenue to survive.
Tom Dimanis
Roar Pro
Don't they play one-dayers on cloudy days?? There are no cloudy days in Perth so WACA day/night tests should be a goer :p
Neuen
Guest
But why play at night? Because TV wanted more viewers and wants to make more money? Why not schedule tests when people are not working like during the weekend? People will fall anyway asleep watching cricket at night. At night then we have that situation of the cut of time and they must stop playing because TV bosses said so. Farce of 92 World Cup. Who is anyways going to visit a ground at night when they are working the next day? So its all to make more money with TV and basically "acting" like they gave a damn about the supporters or fans or anything. If you want to make money just invite India over for half a year tour and leave changing the game with silly ideas alone as this is the stupidest ideas ever!
Peter Cricket Batter
Guest
Test cricket is always more accessible to the typical cricketing fan. Thats just how it is, whether we like it or not :/
sheek
Roar Guru
Brett, Not if he walks & fields sideways like his moniker..... '-)
Matt F
Roar Guru
Also there are issues with its durability and how quickly it loses its colour. I'd imagine that they'd ideally want to still play in whites as well
Brett McKay
Expert
Tom, have you tried to catch a white ball on a cloudy day, or out of a grey-ish background (like a stadium roof, for eg)??
Tom Dimanis
Roar Pro
Why don't we just use a white ball?
Timmuh
Roar Guru
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.
Michael
Guest
Ultimately, if it makes Test cricket more accessible and more popular to the broader cricketing community, then surely it's worth a try. I love Test cricket and if it means that its future is guaranteed for the next few decades, then that can only be a good thing. The biggest lesson that the governors of the game have to absorb is that, if it does work, don't over do it.
Andy_Roo
Roar Guru
Why does a test match ball need to last 80 overs? Why not 60? This would make the white ball more feasible. It would still be a level playing field. Some might argue that this would kill the art of spin bowling but if the white ball ages quicker then there will still be the opportunity for spinners.
Christo the Daddyo
Guest
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.
Matt F
Roar Guru
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.
Brian
Guest
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