Australia, New Zealand to play first day-night Test at Adelaide Oval in November

Melbourne, Australia: Australia and New Zealand will play the first ever day-night Test under lights with a pink ball in November at the Adelaide Oval, according to a report. The historic event on November 27 will be the third Test of a three-match series against the Black Caps on Australian soil this summer and will be the first to be played under lights and with a pink Kookaburra ball. [caption id=“attachment_2319414” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] UAE hosted a day-night first class match in March this year between MCC and Yorkshire where pink balls were trialled. Getty Images.[/caption] The match headlines a six-Test summer schedule released by Cricket Australia today, with the series against New Zealand followed by three Tests against West Indies that includes the marquee Boxing Day and New Year’s matches. Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland said the day-night Test puts fans first, with more spectators able to attend or watch on television. “One of the global challenges with Test cricket is that most of the matches outside holiday periods are played on week days, in the middle of the day when people are at work and kids are at school,” Sutherland was quoted as saying by www.cricket.com.au. “By shifting the playing times each day’s play can go into the evening and allow people to come in after work or after school to attend the last few hours of play, but also when they get home in other parts of the world or other parts of the country, they can watch the game on TV,” he said. A start time for the day-night Test is still under consideration and not yet confirmed, but one possible scenario would see play start at 2.30pm and run until 9.30pm Adelaide time. That would mean play would be from 3pm to 10pm in Melbourne and Sydney, 2pm to 9pm in Brisbane, noon to 7pm in Perth and 5pm to midnight in New Zealand. In another break from Test cricket tradition, the longer 40-minute interval, known as ’lunch’ in day Tests, could now be held between the second and third sessions, and would be known as ‘dinner’. The 20-minute break for tea would retain the same name, but it would be held between the first and second sessions in the day-night Test. New Zealand Cricket chief executive David White labelled the move “another step forward in the evolution of the game”. “Since the first Test in 1877 there have been numerous changes to the laws and rules in an effort to ensure the game remains relevant – and this is another,” White said. PTI