AGENCY
MELBOURNE : Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland wants players to remain open-minded about day-night test matches during the 2017-18 Ashes series in Australia.
Sutherland said he respected the concern of Australia captain Steve Smith and others, but reiterated that a pink-ball Ashes test would be a “natural progression.”
Australia hosted the first day-night test at the Adelaide Oval last year, beating New Zealand in a low-scoring match.
The venue will host another day-night test in November, after South African players ended weeks of debate by agreeing Wednesday to be involved.
Today, Sutherland said day-night tests will allow for bigger audiences at the matches and on television and predicted there’d be “somewhere between zero and two” day-night tests during the next Ashes series.
He spoke after Smith, playing in the West Indies in a limited-overs tri-series, said the Ashes “works pretty well with the red (regular) ball … playing against England, we always get the viewers and the crowds out, so I don’t think there is any issue there.”
England captain Alastair Cook has also indicated he’d like the 2017-18 Ashes series to be all traditional day matches. Dates haven’t been announced for that series.
The Adelaide day-night test last year was completed in three days, but drew 124,000 spectators and television ratings were also favorable.
“I think there’s a natural progression for us to get to a stage where Ashes test matches are played as day-night games,” Sutherland said. “The players are clearly an important stakeholder and I respect the views of Steven and Alastair in saying that. The Ashes is a great contest, and (it) will no doubt attract huge audiences both at the ground and on television.
“But I think the facts of the matter are that by playing a day-night test match you’re actually going to get bigger audiences at the game and on television.
It even time-shifts games into a more appealing time of day in the U.K. That’s another factor we need to consider. PTI
Eden Gardens frontrunner to host historic Test
KOLKATA: The iconic Eden Gardens has emerged as the frontrunner to host the first ever Day-Night Test match in the country against the visiting New Zealand side even though CAB president Sourav Ganguly said it will depend on their upcoming “pink ball experiment” from June 18.
“Nothing is confirmed yet. Nothing has been confirmed yet. Hosting a day night Test will depend on the success of the Duleep Trophy. We are also organising the country’s first day night four-day CAB Super League final with pink Kookaburra balls from June 18-21 on an experimental basis. We will see how it goes,” Ganguly told PTI, keeping cards close to his chest.
An influential BCCI official, though, told PTI that if the Day/Night Test match is held against New Zealand, it will come to Eden Gardens in all likelihood. “The decision will be taken during the BCCI working committee meeting on June 24th. We are hopeful that Eden will be allotted the match. Also we will get a feedback from CAB on their D/N experiment,” the source said.
Eden’s chances are bright since the other two Test venues for the New Zealand leg are Indore and Kanpur. Kanpur’s floodlights have been a problem while Indore, for a match of this magnitude, may not be the best venue. The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) has procured a dozen pink kookaburra balls for the super league final next week which will be telecast live.
CAB secretary Avishek Dalmiya said: “We will keep more grass for visibility. Kookabura world and subcontinent head are expected for the match. We don’t want to make a fool of ourselves. It depends on how the BCCI takes it, how successful it is. That’s the way forward. We are trying something for first time. The legacy will be with us. We will give two balls each to the finalists who will practice two days ahead of the final,” Dalmiya said. PTI
