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Day/Night Test Cricket - Shield trials sheduled to gauge viability

Hooksey

Banned
heaven knows the Brisbane test needs it
Word is that Brisbane & Adelaide will play day/night tests prior to Melbourne & Sydney. Melbourne & Sydney crowds are already strong and it's the other two venues that really need the lift.
 

Hooksey

Banned
Bigger question now is if they can sell the tv rights for these matches, and for how much

I suspect the payoff is going to be nice and the d/n ball will finally get rolling
The ICC gave it's blessing for day/night tests to be played about a year ago, and I'm sure TV rights would have been part of the attraction.
 

Hooksey

Banned
they trialled this (day/night SS) back in the late nineties I think, and Michael Hussey was one of many who complained that batting became very difficult at night time, the balance between bat and ball was thrown out according to him
Test cricket remains the holy grail, but how long have we played international 50 over cricket for in day/night format? Eons, and any imbalance in the difference between batting in the daylight compared to the night is just accepted as part of the game there. Just as I guess batting last on a deteriorating wicket in a test match is.
 

King Pietersen

International Captain
I remember when they were first testing it, they found it difficult to pick up when it went high into the sky above the floodlights on camera, and for high catches. Not sure if that's changed or not, I presume not. How did it go when the ECB tested it in the MCC game a few years back?
 

Hooksey

Banned
According to Cricket Australia, if the trials are successful more Shield games will be played under lights the following summer, perhaps experimenting at a different time of year as well.

CA chief James Sutherland says the Kiwis are very open to the idea of a day/night test during the Black Caps 2015 tour.
 

swede

School Boy/Girl Captain
Good on Australia for trying things but I cant see this working out

They havent really solved the problem with the ball . Tv income may not grow all that much as there will certainly be much more competition for viewers in prime time. I doubt attendances will grow much as the game will feel even longer for those attending all day.
In england its particularly pointless, as an ashes series there would likely lose a lot of australian interest as play will begin around midnight rather than 8 pm their time. Generally all day games in England are allready day-night games in India.

I think 4-day tests are more worthy of consideration. Besides forcing-through better pitches leading to better cricket they would also lead to a higher proportion of the match being played on the weekend where there is no need for evening cricket.
 
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Riggins

International Captain
It would be nice to reduce the time gap between getting gassed at the ground and getting gassed on the town. Would also provide a greater sleep in.
 

swede

School Boy/Girl Captain
Yeah, from what I've heard Australia is the best place it would work because of the lack of dew in the evenings. Probably among the countries that needs the change least though.

I definitely think tests in England in July could start later on weekdays. Not even necessarily day night games, just games that start at 1 or 2 and go on until 8 or 9, with the floodlights assisting in the final session. If time is lost for rain bad light, then they could shift it back to 11 with the evening time being space to make overs up.
Some of this could very well happen by accident simply because Britain is likely to move the clock forward in the future. It has often been considered and gets ever more popular. It was only likely dropped the last time because it looked set to become a political football in Scotland where its less popular but after the referendum I cant see it not happening. Britain wastes daylight. It would play beginning at 12 in unchanged conditions
 

Fuller Pilch

Hall of Fame Member
I think 4-day tests are more worthy of consideration. Besides forcing-through better pitches leading to better cricket they would also lead to a higher proportion of the match being played on the weekend where there is no need for evening cricket.

+1

Would like to have 4 day tests with 105-110 overs per day. Floodlights could help with that of course. Plenty of time to get a result, and could perhaps help the poorer nations play more 3 test (rather than 2 test) series - selling 12 days of test cricket shouldn't be that hard
 

JontyPanesar

U19 Vice-Captain
The ICC gave it's blessing for day/night tests to be played about a year ago, and I'm sure TV rights would have been part of the attraction.
Yeah, but haven't Shield TV rights already been negotiated prior to this announcement? And any word on whether Fox Sports will televise any/all of these matches and not simply webcast them with no commentary? I haven't seen anything yet. If they don't actually produce any proper coverage, it'll be a shame. Unfortunately, looking at the international schedule around the time when round 9 is played, it's also a little packed (with a bunch of useless limited overs matches before the world t20 in bangladesh) and I could see it being crowded out from tv coverage. If they do televise the match and put the necessary tv production resources, I'm sure it will only lead to further adoption.

The real inflection point for d/n will come when the next major tv contract is negotiated to include d/n matches. The value-added from d/n could be enormous for some series, and from there, I really see all controversies from the colour of the ball falling by wayside (aka additional tv revenue solves most of these problems). That said, D/N will not solve most timezone issues though (contrary to what the NZ chair seems to think), and I don't totally blame SLC for not wanting D/N because the time zone difference is already close to ideal for SL and Pak viewers actually.
 
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Furball

Evil Scotsman
Some of this could very well happen by accident simply because Britain is likely to move the clock forward in the future. It has often been considered and gets ever more popular. It was only likely dropped the last time because it looked set to become a political football in Scotland where its less popular but after the referendum I cant see it not happening. Britain wastes daylight. It would play beginning at 12 in unchanged conditions
The bolded isn't true. The debate has been around not moving the clocks back in winter, which Scotland will always vote against because at the height of winter it wouldn't get light in Glasgow until after 9am, in the very north of Scotland it would be after 10am before it gets light.
 

Hooksey

Banned
The bolded isn't true. The debate has been around not moving the clocks back in winter, which Scotland will always vote against because at the height of winter it wouldn't get light in Glasgow until after 9am, in the very north of Scotland it would be after 10am before it gets light.
The time issues in Scotland and England make for an interesting sideshow.

Interestingly, Pakistan recently invited Sri Lanka to play a day/night test in the United Arab Emirates. But it fell through because the Sri Lanka players felt they hadn't had sufficient experience with the ball that was to be used and the conditions they might encounter.
 
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HeathDavisSpeed

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
It worries me that NZC are very keen for this. Could we end up with Test cricket at the Wetspac Stadium rather than the Basin Reserve just because of the floodlights? It wouldn't surprise me, and it would be disgusting if they did.

Given they sell out the Basin for England & India games, I reckon they'd be very keen for those Tests to be day/night and at the Wetspac to maximise revenue.
 

Hooksey

Banned
It worries me that NZC are very keen for this. Could we end up with Test cricket at the Wetspac Stadium rather than the Basin Reserve just because of the floodlights? It wouldn't surprise me, and it would be disgusting if they did.

Given they sell out the Basin for England & India games, I reckon they'd be very keen for those Tests to be day/night and at the Wetspac to maximise revenue.
Had the good fortune to attend a match at the Basin some years ago. 1999 would be my best guess. A one day international between NZ and South Africa. We were having a very pleasant afternoon drinking the local product on the terrace until the heavens opened. No problem. The pub across the road was about 10 metres walk and we completed the day there.
 

HeathDavisSpeed

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Had the good fortune to attend a match at the Basin some years ago. 1999 would be my best guess. A one day international between NZ and South Africa. We were having a very pleasant afternoon drinking the local product on the terrace until the heavens opened. No problem. The pub across the road was about 10 metres walk and we completed the day there.
If only they still held ODIs at the Basin these days. Guaranteed sell-outs, IMO.

However, now they even send domestic 20:20s to the soulless Wetspack.
 

Hooksey

Banned
If only they still held ODIs at the Basin these days. Guaranteed sell-outs, IMO.

However, now they even send domestic 20:20s to the soulless Wetspack.
Without trying to detract from the Basin, I went there used to the MCG and modern facilities, and found the Basin to be old world by comparison. It was like going back in a time machine. The beer on the hill was being sold out of those old stainless steel enclosures with top opening doors that milkbars (dairies for some) used to sell ice-creams out of. But I loved it there.

The toilets were ancient, and I saw something there you will never see in Australia, or perhaps anywhere else in the world for that matter. When you went for a piss at the urinal at the Basin there were girls queued up inside the men's toilets waiting to use the men's toilet cubicles. So you had a crowd of women watching as you taking a piss. True story :laugh:

But don't get me wrong. I loved the Basin, and next time I'm in Wellington would love to go to another game there.
 
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Bahnz

Hall of Fame Member
It worries me that NZC are very keen for this. Could we end up with Test cricket at the Wetspac Stadium rather than the Basin Reserve just because of the floodlights? It wouldn't surprise me, and it would be disgusting if they did.

Given they sell out the Basin for England & India games, I reckon they'd be very keen for those Tests to be day/night and at the Wetspac to maximise revenue.
White mentioned that they were only looking to make potentially 1-test per series a day-nighter, so presumably Hamilton or Auckland would be used for that purpose. Of course if it's a big success and (more critically) it earns the NZC a lot more broadcasting money, then they could always make it the new standard. They're bringing in temporary lights for games at Hagley Oval, I wonder whether it would be possible to do the same at the Basin?
 

HeathDavisSpeed

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
White mentioned that they were only looking to make potentially 1-test per series a day-nighter, so presumably Hamilton or Auckland would be used for that purpose. Of course if it's a big success and (more critically) it earns the NZC a lot more broadcasting money, then they could always make it the new standard. They're bringing in temporary lights for games at Hagley Oval, I wonder whether it would be possible to do the same at the Basin?
They day they schedule Test matches for the Wetsac is the day I leave NZ tbh.

So yeah, hopefully they can find a way to maximise revenue and still play at the Basin.

And Hooksey - nothing will have changed at the Basin since 1999. The toilets are still ****, though I can't recall a match recently where the women have been forced to queue up for the men's - and it's been sold out for the England Tests for sure.
 
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