Are you in favour of day/night test cricket?

[Cricket Tragic]

Floodlit Test could be set for next year

Test cricket could see its first day/night fixture as soon as January next year after the MCC said it was in discussions with New Zealand Cricket. Zimbabwe are touring New Zealand and the Test match at Napier could be played under lights with a pink ball if trials set for October prove successful. The ECB announced that the Championship game between Kent and Glamorgan next week will be a day/night encounter and the MCC has ambitious plans. "I'm currently in discussions with cricket New Zealand, hoping to organise a first-class match under lights with a pink ball between MCC and Northern Districts at the end of October in Hamilton," MCC director of cricket John Stephenson told ESPNcricinfo. "If that happens and it goes well and if NZC and ICC are all happy we're hoping that might be the precursor to New Zealand playing Zimbabwe in a Test match under lights at the end of January." The MCC have been central in pushing day/night first-class cricket. With Test crowds in large parts of the world dwindling, finding new ways to draw people to grounds is essential. Floodlit games would allow people to come in after work and see half a day's play and it's hoped that may help increase spectator turnout. For Stephenson, it is crowd numbers that is the most important gauge of success in the game at Canterbury. "If it helps stimulate attendances for what is in effect a dead game it would be a success. That's really the be all and end all. "We've had two very good games in Abu Dhabi where the players adapted and there are periods of the game where, like in any form of cricket, you have to adapt. I'm just hoping the players will enjoy playing in a different format and I hope they see the ball well. It is always a danger with something new that if something goes wrong or someone drops a catch or misses a straight one, the colour of the ball will be blamed. But that is something that happens in any form of cricket, with a dark red ball even, sometimes you don't pick it up or miss a straight one." Though floodlit first-class cricket could prove a crowd-puller in other parts of the world, England, especially in mid-September, is less suited to it. Not only will spectators have to brave the cold but evening dew could also come into play. "The worry is at Canterbury in mid-September it won't be ideal in terms of conditions," said Stephenson. "But we pray for decent weather and no dew and hopefully we'll get an idea of how it works. Dave Richardson, the ICC general manager of cricket, said at the ICC's cricket committee meeting in May that dew was a major factor to consider in day-night games but Stephenson is hopeful that the Kent-Glamorgan fixture won't sway New Zealand Cricket too much if conditions prove poor. "You never know what the weather is going to be like," he said. "Obviously they'll [NZC] have a look at what goes on at Canterbury next week but hopefully that won't stop them doing it."

[Cricket Tragic]

Pink ball set for County Championship trial

County Championship cricket will be played using a pink ball under floodlights for the first time after the ECB approached Kent and Glamorgan with a proposal to stage their final match of the season under trial conditions. Both teams have agreed on the proposal for the match at Canterbury on September 12 and the hours of play will be 2pm until 9pm - the floodlights will be turned on at 5.30pm but can be used earlier if needed - while players will wear white clothing. This particular match has been selected because neither side is in the Division Two promotion race. This is the latest stage in the trials to determine whether Test match cricket could be played in day/night conditions. There have already been various trials, including the annual MCC verses Champion County match which has been staged in Abu Dhabi for the last two seasons and also in Pakistan and West Indian domestic tournaments. They have also been used in county second XI cricket and university matches, while Cricket Australia will trial twilight matches during this season's Sheffield Shield. Both ICC and MCC, who have led the way in the process, believe floodlit Test cricket can become a reality soon although one of the major sticking points has been the colour of the ball. Tests have suggested pink is the best version but there remain concerns over batting during twilight periods. The other factor that needs to be considered is the impact of dew, with can make the second innings of day/night one-day internationals very difficult, and that was an issue mentioned by Dave Richardson during the ICC's cricket committee meeting in May. "The venue still needs to have decent lights, somewhere like Lord's, Sydney or Abu Dhabi. You also need to play it at a venue, and time of year, where dew isn't going to come in a seven o'clock," he said. "You can have the best ball in the world but it would be unfair in those conditions." With the English season drawing to a close in mid-September dew could well be a factor that Glamorgan and Kent have to deal with so it will give an indication of the potential impact.

[Prakat]

Yes. It will be a different experience for the players and will add to the testing nature of the game.

[Khalpat]

No, Test cricket looks good in the present look. Already flat pitches and restriction for bouncers , IPL have turned this great game into a circus, please spare the best format of the game no experiment with this.

[Cricket Tragic]

They had this discussion on Sky and Gower was wondering if it would actually bring more people in because they would have to take the day off work anyway. It does give people the chance to watch a bit of the game after getting home from work though. England don't need this because they get good crowds and the days are long in the summer anyway. It's a winter sport on the SC and you will have issues with dew.

[Serani]

Dont see how it would work in england anyway, doesnt get dark till 10 in summer. Would be good in places like WI and NZ to attract crowds on weekdays.

[Trichromatic]

Dont see how it would work in england anyway, doesnt get dark till 10 in summer. Would be good in places like WI and NZ to attract crowds on weekdays.

NZ have already made their stadiums smaller. Day-night cricket, spectators will enjoy that. It would attract more crowd in India and certainly increase number of TV viewers.

[Cricket Tragic]

I hated the idea when it was first brought up (and a part of me still does) but I'm now open to trying it out and seeing if it will benefit the game. I'd like to see the game starting at 3 pm rather than at 2 pm.

[Trichromatic]

I'd like to see the game starting at 3 pm rather than at 2 pm.

Why?

[Cricket Tragic]

Why?

You want to start as late as possible and yet finish at a decent time. A start at 3 pm would allow people to watch 2 good sessions of play after work and yet the game doesn't finish too late.

[Mariyam]

I don't think it will be commercially viable to have test matches over the evening and into the night. Most of the time these will not have the nail biting finishes that one associates with T20s and ODIs. And after a long day at work, everyone wants to watch something exciting. We're talking about prime time here. Would a household watch India vs NZ 2nd day at 9 pm or would they watch KBC? WOuld you want to watch the said test match or a game of big bash at the same time? Don't see it happening.

[Cricket Tragic]

Boycs in favour of it :woot:

[Sachin=GOD]

Yes.

[Cricket Tragic]

On a chilly, windy September night in Canterbury, there was little evidence to suggest that pink ball day/night cricket could boost audiences for the County Championship, but perhaps another step was taken towards the first ever day/night Test match. As far as boosting attendances, there was nothing to suggest that the 500 or so spectators huddling in a sheltered stand or sipping hot coffee from behind the comfort of a glass window in the restaurant wouldn't have turned out to watch Kent versus Glamorgan in their end of season dead rubber anyway, but it was intriguing to gauge how the pink ball, black sightscreen and free entry for the ÃÃight session for the England and Wales Cricket BoardÃÔ pink ball trial would go down with both players and supporters. Floodlit, long form cricket is the brainchild of John Stephenson, the MCCÃÔ Head of Cricket, who believes day/night Test matches could be the way to boost attendances in countries around the world who have struggled to fill their grounds in recent years. It has been trialled in Abu Dhabi for the MCC v County Champions curtain raiser for the last two years, and a number of matches in the 2nd XI County Championship have also used a Kookaburra ball with a bright pink lacquer. The experiment in Canterbury is being conducted by the ECB, but Stephenson was at the St Lawrence ground yesterday and was monitoring events closely. This was the first time a pink ball had been used in a competitive First Class game in this country and there are plans for another floodlit First Class match involving the MCC in New Zealand in October, before potentially staging the first day/night Test as early as the New Year when New Zealand host Zimbabwe. As well as placating those who don't wish to see the traditional timing of a Test or 4 day First Class game tampered with, the biggest stumbling block facing Stephenson remains the quality, durability and visibility of the cricket ball. At Canterbury, pink Tiflex balls are being trialled for the first time whereupon the leather has been dyed, as opposed to the Kookaburra with its pink coating. Only 12 balls have been specially manufactured for the game, which was one factor concerning Kent and former England wicket keeper Geraint Jones. He was unhappy that the match had been thrust upon the players at the last minute and that they would be playing with balls which were totally untried and untested, with umpires directed not to change balls unless absolutely necessary because there were so few replacements. It was then hastily agreed before the start that the teams would use the pink Tiflex for the 1st innings only, reverting to the Kookaburra for the 2nd. As it turned out, the stitching on the ball split early on in the match and the players just had to get on with it; far from ideal in a First Class match, albeit one which has no bearing on Division Two promotion. The performance of the ball got mixed reactions. The days play was quite unremarkable in itself, however a new red Tiflex is renown for its swing and seam whereas the pink Tiflex offered nothing and Glamorgan, asked to bowl first, turned to spin after just 7 overs. The pitch didn't help matters though, as it was slow and tired with little carry. Spin accounted for the first 3 wickets to fall but when the 2nd new ball was taken around 8pm, after 82 overs and under lights, it did just a little bit, nothing untoward, and Glamorgan seamers John Glover and Graham Wagg quickly finished off the Kent innings; 18 year old Glover finished with 4-49 off 18 overs as Kent lost 3-22 in 6.1 overs of the new ball and were all out for 237. We got the spinners on very early, said Glamorgan's bowling coach Steve Watkins. Å£ut we're not sure if the wicket had an effect or the ball itself. The feeling from the bowlers is that the ball got soft very quickly and in the twilight zone, it didn't really do too much. We mopped up the tail and it just swung a little bit like you'd expect from any normal ball. You have to judge these things over two or three games though and the wicket was a bit slow. In terms of visibility, the feedback from the dressing room was that when the lights came on it was easy to see the ball, but it came at you a little quicker than you expected. It wasn't too bad, said Kent's Geraint Jones who batted carefully to make 48 and then kept wicket for 5 overs as Glamorgan closed on 2/0. Because the seam split, you didn't get your value off the bat I felt. But also it was a very slow wicket so perhaps not an ideal way to judge the ball because of the slowness. Another suggestion would be to get the ball a bit brighter. Once it scuffed up a bit it almost went white, so that was a bit of an issue. And the ball didn't shine like a red one. It didn't really seam or swing so that's maybe an area they need to look at." There was a mixed reaction from Kent supporters, some of whom were proud that their club was taking part in an historical match, which could have an impact on the future direction of the game; others could not see the need to change the timings of 4 day cricket and felt that the credibility of the Championship and the professionalism of the players was being undermined by them taking part in such an experiment. Whether or not the ECB press ahead with further pink ball trials in County Cricket, John Stephenson maintains that the MCCÃÔ trials have always been with Tests in mind, and probably outside of the UK. Ÿhether it would be good to stimulate attendances in County Cricket, I donÃÕ know, it might be. But IÃ×e always talked about Test cricket being the main beneficiary of it. ItÃÔ an experiment that is worth trying. ŧrom what IÃ×e seen, this form of the game is viable; 4 day cricket under lights, with a pink ball, white clothing. It works. You can play a game of cricket. There are different nuances of the game that you have to get used to, but itÃÔ interesting. ItÃÔ worth trying. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/alisonmitchell/2011/09/pink_ball_may_allow_test_match.html

[Pagalpanti]

Only problem I see is dew in places like Bangladesh and some northern parts of India. It'll be interesting though.

[akshayxyz]

Ohh, I wanted to vote yes.

[Cricket Tragic]

Even with the mediocre opposition, the crowds have been pathetic. It might be atleast worth trying it out in certain parts of the world to see if it brings more people in.

[rkt.india]

yes...but due is the biggest problem...

[mani0993]

I quite don't understand the logic of our Greedy BCCI not using lights for test matches. A lot of time could be saved. Fools

[carnish]

Please... I dont want stupid ICC changing and tampering with the test cricket.... the best format of a game cause it has sustained itself over 100 yearsnow and i bet it will continue to do so for a long time yet