The International Cricket Council (ICC) has come up with a whole new plan to revive Test cricket. In recent times, there has been a continuous dip in the viewership of Test cricket and it forced ICC to think out of the box. After months of discussions, debates and deliberations, the concept of day-night Test came to fore. Yes, the stage is set for the historic day – November 27, when Test cricket will get a fresh new look. Believe me; it will astound you far more than the last ball finish at a T20 clash.
- Historic Test will take place in Adelaide.
- Play would begin at around 2pm each day and pink ball would be used.
- Traditional Boxing Day and New Year Tests not being considered.
The Adelaide Oval to host first day-night Test
The first-of-its-kind day-night Test is scheduled to take place later this year at Adelaide Oval. Australia and New Zealand will play the inaugural match with flood lights on. The pink ball will also be introduced in the match marking a new epoch in cricket. Usually, Test matches are played during the day time but from November onwards this format is set to embrace a lot of transformation.
ICC congratulated both the Kiwi and Kangaroo teams for stepping in the right direction and paving the way for the first ever day-night Test match later this year. ICC Chief Executive Dave Richardson asserted that there is an urgent need to translate the people’s love in Test cricket by letting them come in large number at the stadiums. Day-night Test cricket will certainly allow the office goers and cricket enthusiasts to visit the stadium after a hard day’s work and at least enjoy the last two sessions of the game. From hindsight there seems to be positive exuberance about the proposed day-night Test cricket among the cricket fans worldwide.
However, many cricketers are skeptical about the same. The Aussie bowler Mitchell Starc has already showed his reservation about the day-night Test cricket. Similarly, former Indian cricketers such as Venkatesh Prasad and Erapalli Prasanna are also cynical about the day-night format of test cricket. Prasad stated to a leading cricket website that Test cricket should remain traditional as it has been so for the last many decades. Prasanna also cautioned that dew factor in the night will largely affect the bowler’s capability to trouble the batsmen at the last two session of the match.
On the other hand, few other cricket including Shane Watson is of the view that let the time decide if this day-night format in Test cricket will continue or not. Unless the inaugural day-night match is played it is still too immature to comment on this subject.
Meanwhile, Rashid Latif, a former Pakistan cricketer, has added a whole new twist to the subject by stating that India and Pakistan should also play day-night Test matches. However, no reaction about the same has been ascertained from Indian side until now. No doubt, if India and Pakistan agree to play day-night Test match, then it would be houseful at the stadium for sure.
Tags: Adelaide Oval, Australia, Cricket, Day-Night Test, ICC, International Cricket Council, New Zealand, Sports, Test Cricket, Test Match
