The original intention of this column was to comment on the recently concluded series in South Africa and what a fine advert for the game it provided.
And while this writer has to applaud the effort of Michael Clarke’s men – they obviously are the real deal, like many predicted – my colleagues have given the subject a thorough going-over, so this article has cast an eye more towards domestic matters.
Unless you’re a cricket aficionado you may not have noticed the three first-class Sheffield Shield games down under were played using a day-night format and with a pink rather than the traditional red ball.
And while full-scale revolution isn’t on the way any time soon, if all goes to plan the international scene may have to incorporate a new kid on the block.
To simplify the point, there is a desire to stage Test matches under floodlights, and these four-day games are a step towards that end target.
But, and this is a very big but, so far a suitable ball hasn’t been found that can meet the necessary demands.
Yellow and orange balls have been used in the past – I can recall watching a day’s play in Sydney in the late 1990s where a yellow ball was used – but neither was up to the task.
A pink ball was used in English cricket when Kent faced Glamorgan at Canterbury in September 2011 in a County Championship encounter. The ball was deemed to need more in the way of trials before a step up to international cricket could be contemplated.
One of those further experiments will be conducted when Durham face the MCC in the traditional English season opener in Abu Dhabi later this month, but whether this clears the matter up is debatable.
What is certain is that some in power will be looking on in keen anticipation for the fallout from the aforementioned contests in Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide respectively.
Should it be favourable, and the scores don’t suggest that anything untoward occurred, then it can only be a matter of time before the first ever floodlit Test is staged.
And this cricket fan, for one, would be enthusiastic, if slightly wary, about the concept.
A lot has been made about the current state of the five-day game, and more specifically the number of spectators who turn up, so any idea that could reverse that trend has to be welcomed.
The main issue, aside from the ball, comes when dealing with the playing conditions in the evening.
If dew is a significant factor then the natural progression of the game is altered artificially and that should be avoided if at all possible, as should any twilight period that can adversely affect the vision of those playing.
Should these concerns be dismissed as trivial, then what is there to lose?
Limited-overs cricket is played where dew is present and twilight a hazard and that doesn’t show any signs of stopping.
Yet a complaint can’t be made in one breath and then condemnation of any suggested solution offered in another.
Proof that the ultimate form of the game is alive and well in playing terms has just been provided by South Africa’s tussle with Australia, so there is little to worry about in that regard.
But times do change and the sport would be foolish if it thought that to sit still and pretend nothing is happening is the best way forward.
If – and it isn’t here yet, so let’s not get ahead of ourselves – floodlit Test cricket happens and it doesn’t work, then it would be easy to go back to what has survived for decades.
So how about it – Australia versus England on Boxing Day in 2016, under lights at the MCG?
It’s worth a go.
Griffo
Guest
The potential is definitely there for Brisbane and Adelaide tests and maybe even Hobart tests. I think this can lead to both bigger crowds and greater tv viewing audience. At the moment most of test cricket happens during working hours. There would also be the potential for starting the Melbourne or Sydney tests an hour to an hour and a half earlier. If you're travelling to get to the ground and you have to deal with traffic it can be early start to get to the ground on time, especially for holidays. The one question I have is do they breaks stay the same with 40 mins between the 1st and 2nd sessions and 20 mins between the 2nd and 3rd orbdo they reverse it and have say a tea and dinner break?
Simoc
Guest
Pretty much no-one turned up at the first test in South Africa and there was reported to be a full house at Newlands. Why play games where they're not supported. Play only two tests if thats where it's at. Given that there was no free to air in Oz despite the late hours and spare channel available, you can be certain Oz vs South Africa cricket tests wouldn't rate highly anywhere outside of the committed test cricket junkies living rooms dwindling as they are. But we can keep pretending for awhile.
Bearfax
Guest
Bit rude Simoc. I may be a bimbo and I may say a lot that says little, but I'm certainly not his girlfriend. He's not my type. So what are you doing tonight sweety..
Simoc
Guest
Bearfax, O'keefe s bimbo girlfriend. Lots of words to say very little as always.
sheek
Roar Guru
Hi Pope, The ball was white I think, which got discoloured pretty quickly. But you know, the guys just got on with it. The Aussies played in canary yellow; the World in powder light blue & the Windies initially in hot pink, before darkening to maroon. I think the ball colour endured as the major problem.
TheTruth
Guest
Agree, give it a go but I do have one reservation and that is the fact that at both Adelaide and the gabba, a fast bowlers best chance at wickets is generally in the morning where this still a bit of moisture in the pitch from the night before and humidity in the air. These tend to dry up as the day progresses, so winning the toss and batting first may be too much of an advantage. Guess there is only one way to find out....
AdamS
Roar Guru
A few extra thousands at the match....why bother? Millions watching and listening on tv and radio and 10's of millions watching, listening and following commentary online.
Pope Paul VII
Guest
Good point Sheek re WSC. I remember Dennis Lillee taking 7/23 at night, pretty sure it was a supertest What colour were the balls and clothes though?
Bearfax
Guest
Good to see a couple of other regulars getting off the Ozzie test bandwagon and commenting on the happenings in the Shield. Good points Sheek and Rob.
Rob na Champassak
Roar Guru
A few things that I noticed during the round: - NSW are riding the fortunes of Ryan Carters Carters has been making significant contributions in almost every single innings in recent times, and this has been helping to make up for the troubles of a somewhat brittle middle order. Only two others in the Blues batting card are averaging over 40 (Scott Henry (41) and skipper Peter Neville (51)), a result of a few too many collapses and Nic Maddinson's run-drought. Carters has contributed nearly a third of NSW's recent aggregates of (149 of 499 against South Australia in Adelaide, and 141 of 470 against Westerrn Australia in Perth). Though NSW are potentially only one outright win from hosting the Shield final, it's hard to imagine them winning it if other batsmen don't find form in the last round. - It's now or never for O'Keefe The other player carrying NSW is Steve O'Keefe. You are probably aware that he picked up two five-fers in consecutive innings in the round, what you might not know is that this has elevated him to the top of the leading wicket-takers table with 38 wickets at just 20 runs apiece. Now the Aussies have a nice long break from Test cricket with no matches until October, but the next series will in all likelihood take place on spin-friendly wickets in the UAE. O'Keefe has consistently been the best spin bowler in the Shield for years. As a left-arm orthodox spinner, he could be an excellent foil to Nathan Lyon, who spins the ball into the right-hander rather than away. If for that series against Pakistan the selectors decide to pick two spinners, and they do not pick O'Keefe, you can consider a vendetta against him at CA headquarters to be all but confirmed. - Tom Cooper: the flying Dutchman Tom Cooper has leapfrogged the evergreen Marcus North to become the Shield's leading run-scorer this season. 858 runs at 57.2 with two centuries and five fifties is an excellent record for any player. But perhaps the most astounding statistic is alluded to by his very healthy strike rate: Cooper has hit nineteen maximums in the current edition of the Shield to date. The only other players to have hit ten or more sixes this season are Ben Dunk (12) and Cameron White (10). Cooper has hit nearly twice as many. The next three highest run scorers in the Shield have only hit nine sixes between them - five of which were hit by Carters in the last round! Although common wisdom dictates that players who hit along the ground are more likely to make runs in the longer form of the game, it seems there are still one or two exceptions to the rule. ;)
sheek
Roar Guru
Alec, While in the past few seasons CA has spent a small European nation's annual budget in promoting BBL, the Sheffield Shield was left to wither on the vine. I queried quite regularly, at the risk of being labelled a dinosaur, negative & other things, if CA cared so much about traditional cricket, why didn't they invest some of that money in tweaking Sheffield Shield rather than apparently pouring it all into BBL? I also accept I probably didn't articulate my views as well as I might have wished. My argument is that traditional cricket needs tweaking. It needs to change, but in a way that still allows it to retain its essence. Day-night cricket, combined with national & provincial clothing, is one way to help preserve the game. The concept of day-night first-class games is not new. For heaven's sake, way, way, way, way back in the summer of 1978/79, WSC supertests were conducted as day-night matches. That's a whopping 35 summers ago!!!!! So I see day-night SS matches as a step in the right direction.
Bearfax
Guest
Speaking of the under lights Shield experiement the pink ball didnt seem to detrimentally affect O'Keefes bowling. He took 5-89 in the first innings and 6-70 in the second for the extraordinary match figure of 11-159 for an amazing wicket for every 14.5 runs. Behrendorff was almost comparable taking 11-242 for his match at a rate of 22 per wicket, while Hopes took 7-64 at an astonishing wicket every 9 runs and Ahmed took 6-176 for his match. Three centuries occurred during this round. Stoinis 170, Forrest 133 and Butterworth 107 not out
Bearfax
Guest
Steve O'keefe mentioned that he thought the pink ball in the day/ night Shield game gave one side an advantage over the other and who is to dispute such a talented bowler. But if that can be resolved, I think the concept of day/ night matches for test cricket could be a winner. It would certainly increase crowds partly for the novelty factor, but also those working day shifts would have a chance during the week to see some of the game in the evening. Most sports are heading that way and it doesnt seem to have a negative effect. In many respects it enhances the crowds. And I think the players would appreciate not having to, in Australia, be out in heat wave conditions all day. Start at 3 pm and finish at 10pm I suspect would be a winner. But that pink ball.....hmmmmm.
Atawhai Drive
Roar Guru
' . . . when Durham face the MCC in the traditional English season opener in Abu Dhabi later this month.' Abu Dhabi, eh? Tradition ain't what it used to be.
Ian Whitchurch
Guest
A change from a red to a pink or white ball is less of a change than the move to covered pitches. If we are happy for four-day cricket to average crowds of less than a thousand in Australia, then stick with the way things have always been done.
AlanKC
Guest
I'm not sure about encouraging watching on telly Pope (although now that I live regionally, anything that lets me see more is welcome). In SA they had decent (compared to the weekdays) attendances on the weekends when they could have sat at home and watched. Plus I remember the days when TV coverage was limited to the first session in the city where the test was being staged and the removal of this restriction doesn't seem to have hurt.
AlanKC
Guest
I'm all in favour of it, anything that may help boost attendances and provide added longevity to test cricket is worth a crack (especially, as you note, for Brisbane and Adelaide).
AlanKC
Guest
Christo, I think I've seen (heard?) comment from CA that the day/night shield games are about testing the pink balls as a prelude to staging day/night tests as opposed to boosting Shield attendances. Mind you, if it worked they wouldn't complain I'm sure.
Don Corleone
Guest
Good points. The doomsdayers are going overboard as usual. Brisbane and Adelaide are obviously the tests that are being looked at. Brisbane in particular have struggles for crowds for the non-Ashes tests. Cricket fans are usually at work and school during the Brisbane and Adelaide tests and seeing that the after-tea session rates about triple the morning session on a weekday...it just makes sense to look into having an night session for these tests.
JGK
Roar Guru
I love that song!