Adelaide's pink-ball Test under threat

Chris, dust bowls in India green tops in England have been around for 100 years. Day night test cricket has been around for 1 match. Repeating yourself over and over on different threads doesn't enhance your opinion anymore. In saying that being at the test last year for a few days was an amazing experience and I really hope it does go through. But could you blame the South Africans for having reservations after hearing the Aussies say the ball is harder to pick up? First thought would be potentially I could be facing Starc Cummins and Pattinson bowling 150 with absolutely no experience in the conditions. That's a pretty scary proposition and let's not forget pride in performance and winning comes into it. Cricket Australia need to give them a proper 4 day fixture under lights against quality opposition and probably throw in a couple of bucks to go with it

Players are complaining they can't see the ball as well at night. So you reckon it wouldn't make any difference whether they were bowling 150 or 130? You're kidding yourself

Yes, the line about the stumps is rubbish because that would be significantly changing the laws of the game. The ball being used actually fits completely within the already defined requirements for a cricket ball. It's not like they've decided to play a match with a compo ball or something. They aren't redefining any of the rules or changing anything outside of the existing parameters, but just making changes completely within those existing parameters.

Hardly a tricked up pitch. They left more grass on it than they often would have and in the end left more than they needed, the ball barely degraded at all, so they could have probably taken a lot more grass off and it would have been fine. As it is, if you are talking of a "pitch characteristic of the venue", this is changed a lot more by the modern drop-in pitches that are just so well prepared they don't degrade and remain way too good for batting for way too long rather than through leaving a bit of extra grass on the surface.

The only comment from last years match at all regarding to struggling to pick up the ball was Steve Smith when he was in slips just around dusk when he dropped a couple. The batsmen didn't seem to have any issue at all. As for the advantage, Australia hardly has much of an advantage with this. Most of the Australian test players wouldn't have played most of the pink ball Shield rounds and for many the Adelaide test is about their only experience with it. So it's hardly a great advantage. Much, much less of an advantage compared to sub-continent teams putting out dust-bowls. In fact, it may even suit SA with bowlers like Dale Steyn and Philander probably loving the conditions and arguably a batting lineup with a better pedigree in conditions where the ball is doing a bit.

Tricked up pitch and a ball that behaves differently from the established ball, and doesn't last. Get the ball right so you can play on a pitch characteristic of the venue, the ball lasts 80 overs and can be seen clearly at all times during play, and day night tests would be great. That the ball isn't right and it compromises the rest of the game seems to me to be South Africa's better argument against playing now, rather than the Australia having minimally more familiarity with that form of cricket argument they've chosen to go with.

Why isn't day night cricket the same as the challenges of touring a different country? You need a better reason than just "it is". Same pitch, same ball, same conditions for both sides. Your line about the stumps is silly by the way.

Im not anti day night im just saying that us complaining about South Africa not wanting to play at a disadvantage and in a more dangerous game is silly as they have a legitimate complaint as it stands. And test match attendance is actually higher than it was for most of the early 2000s so thats not really a problem much less an argument.

You dont think that not being able to see the ball properly is a worry for alot of players? And even if it were just the advantage worry, whats wrong with that? Australia already has the attendance advantage, the pitch advantage, the history playing there advantage and now we want to throw in another advantage? At what point do we say no more advantages to the home team?

The point Ronan makes is a very true one though about the pink ball in Sheffield Shield matches - the majority of the Australian test side didn't play these matches; so the Adelaide test is really it in terms of hardened pink ball experience, and they showed technical vulnerabilities and weaknesses in such conditions. Regardless of their previous exposure to this breed of test cricket I dare say the Proteas would make a serious contest out of it.

Lol I laugh when I read people trying to justify nonesense. Daynight cricket isnt the same as the challenges of touring a differnt country, soon the ausies will be forcing other teams to play by their rules, I mean next it will be " here in australia we play using seven stumps instead of three because when we go to india we get spinning wickets "

You are right. I think when Australia next plays India, if India try to schedule any tests, especially something that could be a decider, at a venue known for producing real dustbowl pitches, then Australia should refuse to play because that offers India too much of an advantage! And Australia should tell England that they aren't playing any more Ashes series over there until England start using Kookaburra balls, because that offers England a major advantage. Getting used to unusual foreign conditions is what test tours are all about. An Adelaide Day/Night test is no different to anything else. Doesn't matter how much is riding on the series. Just like India can produce dustbowls when Australia tour and England can produce greentops, both really favouring the home side, so South Africa have to work out how to negotiate a Day/Night test in Adelaide. CA shouldn't have to consult with opposition as to whether they are happy to play in certain conditions any more than India or England should allow Australia to define which grounds they'd prefer to play at and what sort of pitches they want.

Except nobody is claiming it's more dangerous because they can't see the ball. They are just claiming they feel at a disadvantage because the Australian's have more experience in those conditions and they've never played in them. It would be like Australia having a young team where none of them have played on the sub-continent and telling India that they won't play there unless they produce pitches with pace and bounce because Australia feel disadvantaged playing there. It's a completely hollow argument. Basically, Day/Night tests are now a part of the Australian summer. If that offers Australia some home advantage how is that different to anything else that offers countries home advantage?

Why shouldn't they? Should Australia refuse to play in India unless they produce more pace-friendly pitches? The Day/Night test has just become a part of touring Australia, if that gives Australia some home advantage how is that any different from Australia having to play with a Duke ball on an English greentop, or play India on a dustbowl? Cricket is a sport that allows home teams to manipulate home conditions to their advantage and for visiting teams to win they need to overcome that. How is playing a Day/Night test in Adelaide any different?

Totally agree with Paul D here. Feeling disadvantaged isn't a valid argument. If you are going to allow that argument then Australia could refuse to play in India unless they produce more fast, bouncy pitches, and refuse to play in England unless they use a Kookaburra, because those things give them home advantage. As of now, part of doing a test tour of Australia involves playing a day/night test with a pink ball. Sure, Australia will likely have an advantage there because their players will have played in those conditions more before, just like India have an advantage in India and England have an advantage in England. It's a completely baseless argument in a sport that allows home teams to tailor conditions so much to suit their team and the visiting team has to try to adapt, to say that playing a day/night test would put South Africa at a disadvantage and therefore they shouldn't play it.

South Africas domestic season has ended. There's no way they can schedule such a riduculas thing just to please the Ausies. Keep your pink ball cricket, there's a lot at stake here.

I told you guys. With so much riding on the series and this match could potentially decide it, against such big rivals Australia, they're not gonna be keen to play at night with a ball they've never used before and behaves differently to the red ball. And won't be bullied into something either, which is exactly what Cricket Australia is doing by scheduling this without consulting the SA team or management at all. And I 100% support SA's stance. It could potentially decide the number 1 Test team and SA want that back again after about 5 years of reigning then losing it last year. For SA cricket it's more than just about money, especially when it comes to beating Australia in Australia. They want to do that for a 3rd consecutive series. And want to be number 1, and do it fair and square in a "normal" or regular Test series which have been played for the past 100 years.

I can't say I blame the South African players either. If the shoe was on the other foot, and our players had never played day night test cricket with a pink ball, and had to take on Steyn, Morkel and Rabada at the bullring,I'm not sure we'd be up for it.

Yeah, after all the players only get to test themselves against swing and seam on a pitch that isn't a road. Funny how the anti d/n test crowd call it a gimmick yet see no problem with the increasingly farcical attendances during tests as they are

I think South Afirca are well within their rights to say no. I dont see that they would gain anything by playing a day nighter anyways apart from the novelty of it. Day nighters in their current form, with none of the players being able to see the ball properly, are just a fun gimmick that makes it easier for us viewers to see more of the game but could be detrimental to a player either thru a higher chance of injury or just stuffing up his groove. If CA wants teams to play day nighters they have to pay the gimmick money.