The day/night Test has been a controversial subject for the cricketing world, and as successful as Adelaide’s historic moment has the potential to be, it is hard to see such an event becoming a regular fixture going forward.
A pink ball, whites, and Test cricket under lights captured the imagination of many, not least of whom was Cricket Australia. New Zealand Cricket has agreed to the match as part of their tour to Australia at the end of the year: the first since 2011. A new deal was recently signed between the two countries that will see regular competition on both sides of the Tasman, and the biggest eye-grabber of the calendar is Adelaide hosting the first ever day/night Test match.
The Future of Test Cricket Under Lights
Cricket faithful have been opinionated about the concept, and many haven’t been shy in saying that the day/night Test will be a laughing stock and a one-hit wonder.
Similar to when World Series Cricket was first born, the movement behind Test cricket going under lights is a move for ratings. Channel Nine Network have found another gem and pounced on the idea. The network was no doubt a big factor in the match being given clearance by the ICC, with promises of a large audience. The quality of the on-field action has been completely secondary in all of this.
Channel Nine want to target a younger audience with day/night Test cricket, but youth still have Twenty20 cricket to entertain them, and with the continual rise in popularity of the KFC Big Bash in Australia, it is hard to see how a day/night Test match is going to draw such an audience, no matter what nifty gadgets Channel Nine throw into the production.
It could be argued that concerns over a pink ball under lights have been a little over-dramatised, but if the match turns out to be a flop where both sides are bowled out for under 100, then all the debate will be perfectly valid. Players’ form on the occasion wont be an excuse. They are elite international cricketers, and a new concept of Test cricket wont be an excuse for poor performances in the match, especially with two test matches taking place prior, albeit not under the new concept. Surely players can be expected to perform at a reasonable level despite the ‘newness’ of the occasion.
The critics want to see the day/night Test fail, but the uniqueness of this match is going to draw a lot of attention, and the ratings will certainly reflect that. Rightly so — the old cricket faithful don’t want to see the spirit of Test cricket altered, the style of how it is played needs to remain, but the sports world is heading into a direction where it faces a challenge to keep remaining fresh and new, and the day/night test will probably surprise many with how social media-identified it is going to be.
The day/night Test will be something to behold, but how successful it will be remains to be seen, and its regular place on the cricketing calendar in the future is hard to see at this stage.
