Australia and New Zealand have decided to play the first ever day-night Test match.
The Adelaide Oval will host the inaugural Test. The match will be played from 27th Nov-1st Dec, will use a pink Kookaburra ball and is the third Test match of the series between Australia and New Zealand.
New Zealand Cricket Board agreed to the Test as a part of a deal that will resume cricket amongst the two neighbors after 4 years. This will also bring a significant financial windfall for New Zealand. The match will be broadcasted by Channel Nine, which expects a massive jump in the television ratings and rich dividends financially, viewing the advertising revenues will be in excess when compared to the normal day time Tests.
The players are however skeptical and nervous about the use of pink ball as its behavior, adjusting from day Tests to playing in twilight and night and overall effect of the change in the playing conditions. Cricket Australia chief James Sutherland said,”One of the global challenges with Test cricket is that most of the matches outside holiday periods are played on week days, in the middle of the day when people are at work and kids are at school,”
Sutherland further added that,”By shifting the playing times each day’s play can go into the evening and allow people to come in after work or after school to attend the last few hours of play, but also when they get home in other parts of the world or other parts of the country, they can watch the game on TV. ”
New Zealand is supposed to two tour matches under flood lights before first ever day-night Test at Adelaide Oval, to get acclimatised to the use of the pink ball. The Australian team on the other hand will play a day-night Sheffield Shield round following their return home from a short tour of Bangladesh, and perhaps another between the second and third Tests.
