 "Day-night Test: Not a solution to Test cricket’s challenges, but Day 1 in Adelaide was a sight to behold")
Since the first pink-ball Test at the Adelaide Oval, in November 2015 between Australia and New Zealand, a total of only 22 day-night five-day games had been staged until Friday. Australia had figured in 12 of those, and the Oval itself had hosted seven pink-ball Tests, each of which has ended in favour of the home side.
Year on year, fans turn up in large numbers to view the spectacle. Day one of the second Test was no different as it logged an impressive turnout of 50,186 spectators, the fourth most for a single day of Test cricket at the Adelaide Oval. Just goes to show that even though it has been around for nine years, the pink-ball Test is still a novelty that throws up the atmosphere of a limited-overs international while bringing all the various elements of Test cricket into play.
The pink ball has been an object of great mystery and intrigue since it made its way into the cricketing landscape nearly a decade back. All players who have played with it and against it testify to it being somehow harder than its red and white counterparts. Alex Carey, Australia’s wicketkeeper, said a couple of days back that it made depth perception a challenge. Under lights, the pink ball behaves roguishly as it nips around considerably. Even in natural light, it can appear to be a gentle, docile little orb for long periods before shaking off the ennui and developing a life of its own. That’s why no day-night Test has ended indecisively.
Day-night Test: An equal mixture of sport and entertainment
Only five of the 22 preceding pink-ball Tests have gone to a fifth day, and two of them have ended inside two days. Run-making is a difficult task but not impossible, and it’s no secret that the best time to bat is in the first session and the worst in the last two hours and a bit, when the artificial lights take full effect.
The electricity in the Adelaide air was impossible to miss on Friday. A good two hours before the start, the fans started to make a beeline to the ground, the buzz of anticipation and excitement palpable. True, the atmosphere didn’t crackle as it did on the eve of India’s match against Pakistan in the 50-over World Cup in 2015, but few Test matches trigger as much interest as a day-night game, which allows fans to complete a day’s work and still slot in for a few hours of exciting, entertaining cricket.
Adding to the element of drama on the first day of the second Test was the floodlights going off twice in one over in the final hour of the night. It was the cue for the audience to switch on the torch on their mobile phones; the uninitiated could have been forgiven for mistakenly thinking that they had strayed into a T20 fixture, where such developments are commonplace. The venue management team put out an official statement late in the night, which read, “We had a brief internal switching issue that was quickly identified and rectified.” More than 50,000 fans weren’t complaining about the switching issue, were they?
Impact Shorts
More ShortsAre pink-ball Tests the way forward? One isn’t sure. True, the occasional foray into relatively uncharted territory isn’t out of place, but to have such a skewed imbalance might not augur well for the game. As it is, day-night Tests aren’t possible on a regular basis in several parts of the world, where the dew is a pronounced and debilitating factor. But the odd game isn’t certainly unwelcome, especially if it brings fans to the ground, creates a party atmosphere, and provides an equal mixture of sport and entertainment. Wait, where have we heard this before?
The lights went out twice in quick succession at Adelaide Oval, but play has resumed. #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/u6Jtd39Utc
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 6, 2024
Rohit Sharma was non-committal on Thursday afternoon when he was asked in an oblique way if the pink-ball experiment was worth the trouble. After all, it usually is at best one game in a series of three or four, and the effort it entails in adjusting to what is still an unfamiliar sphere is immense. India have only played four day-night Tests previously and just one away – the infamous 36 all out in Adelaide in 2020 – and therefore the need for adjustment is more pressing and demanding.
The Indian captain sought refuge in the diplomatic, saying, “It’s what it is,” and pointing out that as professional sportspersons, they must rise to every challenge and showcase their adaptability. Perhaps he isn’t a huge fan of a pink-ball game, but Rohit won’t hide behind excuses if India don’t pull this one off – they are a little behind the eight-ball after the first day’s skirmishes – because he isn’t cut that way.
Spectators and bowlers love a day-night Test
Like one-day cricket in the 1970s and the 20-over revolution in the early 2000s, the genesis of the day-night Test can be traced back to worries over dwindling attendance numbers for five-day games. One could argue that Australia vs India, either Down Under or in India, doesn’t need artificial tools to bring the crowds, but they don’t hurt, do they? Twenty-two Tests in nine years isn’t so humongous as to spark saturation; two and a half pink-ball Tests a year sounds just about right because it still serves its purpose, maintaining its aura while also helping address concerns surrounding bums on the seats at Test match grounds.
Mitchell Starc isn’t complaining either, for sure. Including Friday’s burst of six for 48, his best figures in Test cricket , he has 72 wickets and counting in 13 Tests, among them four five-wicket hauls, an average of 17.81 (career, 27.53), and a strike rate of 34.6 (career, 48.2). More than anyone else, the 34-year-old left-arm quick will advocate the cause of the pink ball and he will find great support from the bowling fraternity. And from the big crowds. Never mind what the otherwise pampered batters have to say.
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