Day/night test matches. Please, no!

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Test cricket is undoubtedly the best form of cricket, all true cricket fans will agree. T20 on the other hand is just some fun to earn a quick buck. So why are we trying to bridge the gap between Tests and T20s? It’s not right.

For years, we’ve heard murmurs about the ICC considering the introduction of day/night Test cricket. Now, finally it seems to be happening. Never has the expression “that’s just not cricket” been more apt.

From 27 November to 1 December this year, Adelaide will host the first ever day/night Test match between Australia and New Zealand, and every bit of my being hopes it’ll be a disaster.

The flood light will obviously be on, and another notable change will be the exchanging of the red ball for a pink one. This, to me, has T20 cricket written all over it. I assume they are trying to generate more of a public interest in Tests – but will a simple change of conditions from day to night get the job done? Non-traditional cricket fans will still be bored. A pink ball and a night time schedule, won’t suddenly make the batsmen bat at 8 an over and fans aren’t suddenly going to have to wear hard-hats.

50 over ODIs and T20 matches are without doubt a batsmen’s game. Spicy rules like power-plays and only one bouncer an over turn the games into a run fest more often than not. Test cricket is different. It’s the perfect battle between bat and ball, and as the matches reach day four and five, the bowlers have the advantage and if anything, it becomes a bowlers’ game. Players have run on the wicket for days, cracks appear, the ball stays low and spins – in every sense of the word it is a true Test! Add dim conditions and flood lights and we may find that Test cricket becomes a complete bowlers game – would it even last the five days?

Nothing about night Tests appeals to me. The best memories I have of watching cricket involve sitting under the oaks at Newlands with a bunch of mates in the blazing sunshine guzzling beers “to stay hydrated”. It’s a day of endurance for us fans, but for the players as well. Some teams stand in 40 degree heat for a solid two days, having to concentrate every second in case a chance comes their way. Having to do that at night time, just seems a cop out.

I guess I’m just trying to work out what the benefit of day/night Tests is. Is it just so there’s no cricket during working hours and more people have the opportunity to come to the ground?  I can’t accept this as a reason.

I’m interested to hear the views of other Test lovers, as well as some thoughts from crickets fans who only like T20. I beg you – help me understand the appeal of day/light Test matches.

4 comments:

  1. NO. finished. klaar. end. fin.
    I hope it gets shown up for the idiotic idea it is. And for Australia to agree to destroy the game which they undoubtedly helped create is a sign that things are all going south… Test cricket is test cricket for a reason…no frills, no fireworks, no dancing girls…just a battle between bowler and batsmen, neither wanting to give an inch but each wanting to gain that little bit of edge.
    And what even more silly is that the game will stop halfway for “supper” and not lunch…it’s stupid.
    Dave Richardson and co need to shelve this idea along with that Super Sixes nonsense and “free hits”, this isn’t Win and Spin

  2. Wake up, cricket is not this or that, it’s not defined as one format or another that’s an ancient thought. Think Cricket2.0 now. Cricket is a game of equal opportunities and the challenge is to see who can make the most of any chance offered up by the opposition. As long as both teams have an equal playing field, then they can play underwater if needed ( not sure how that would work but you get my point).
    Great article, just think it’s high time we start to remember the impotence innovation has played on cricket to this point and the importance it will play in the future in an attempt to keep crochet relevant

    1. Thanks for your thoughts, Richard. I get where you coming from, but like you say, both teams should have a level playing field. I, personally, don’t believe that batting from (for instance) batting from 3pm to 7pm won’t be the same playing field as batting under lights at 11pm.

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