Hello Test Cricket, Meet Your New Best Friend - Floodlights!

Test cricket tried out an innovation last week but how did day-night Test really impact the game, or even the fans?

Three needed for victory. Three wickets in hand.

Mitchell Starc, his summer already over with a stress fracture, hobbles out. The Adelaide Oval is bathed in glorious artificial light. Even from behind a TV screen, you can tell the ground is throbbing. Minutes later, he was clasping Peter Siddle deliriously as the ball squirted past the infielders for Australia’s winning runs.

As experiments go, this one had worked to near perfection. Over the three days at Adelaide 123,736 had walked in through the gates. The first two Tests at the Gabba in Brisbane and WACA in Perth had attracted a combined total of less than 95,000 spectators over TEN full playing days. TV ratings in Australia were higher than usual and a curious audience worldwide tuned in.

If the voice of the cricket fan, the game’s most critical stakeholder, was a barometer, this was a ringing endorsement.

Test Cricket: Then to Now

Since it was first played in 1877, Test cricket has succeeded in finding its place in the world despite its rather odd construct. It demands devotion unlike any other sporting pursuit from its followers. Over five days the narrative unfolds, sometimes subtly over passages of time, sometimes in an explosion of action. Its obituary has been written on countless occasions over these years, but Test cricket has survived.

This newest avatar, when first suggested, was met with doughty resistance. Many dismissed the idea of playing Tests under lights as even unworthy of discussion. Some even suggested conditions would be so drastically different that these games be categorised under different statistical measures altogether.

The Pink Ball

Add to everything, the concerns about the ball. The red one was too dark to pick up against the night sky. The white one, used in limited overs formats, would be lost against the white clothing. The early experiments with a pink version were unsatisfactory. Players were heard grumbling. Was all this fuss, this break with tradition, really worth it?

Yet, the men behind the scenes, such as Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland who led the push for the concept, were convinced cricket had to take this leap of faith. As the pink ball hooped dramatically under the lights, its swing testing well-entrenched batsmen, the contest was refreshed. Cricket’s enduring allure is in when ball challenges bat. Suddenly, the game had a new dimension, a new challenge. Elite sportsmen, as these cricketers are, must rise to those.

Lots of Takers, India Maybe?

Already, there is talk of two such Tests in Australia next summer in Australia when Pakistan and South Africa visit. New Zealand is considering one against Bangladesh at home next year and will trial night matches with the pink ball in their domestic competition in February. Surely, South Africa and West Indies, where dwindling audiences for Tests has become the norm in recent years, will consider taking the plunge too.

Cricket’s mighty giant BCCI hasn’t spoken yet, but is certain to be watching with curiosity. Every centre approved to host Tests in India has excellent floodlights available. Rarely do Test matches fill up stadiums and local associations will be eager to embrace the opportunity should it present itself.

Innovation, Approved.

Like most innovations, Day-Night Test cricket too is a work in progress. Yet, there can no longer be a smidgen of doubt that the first move in this brave, yet necessary gamble, has paid off handsomely. Over time, this new embrace holds the promise to give the game a perky makeover. At its core it remains the same, yet Test cricket is visibly energised to enter a brave new era.