Is the advent of day/night Test cricket a harbinger for a Test World Cup?

[Spark]

I stand by the wanting it to fail statement and I've heard similar sentiments. You're not saving Test cricket if you morph into something completely different. You're just creating another form of the game. I'd probably rather watch a 5-day, 5-night match to a LO one but if those are my choices, I'm pretty upset. I know how money talks and if the Adelaide match isn't a roaring disaster where the ball performs like a pink lemon and everyone hates it - and it's just a minor failure - TV will get its way until it fails spectacularly.

Fails spectacularly by drawing bigger audiences and TV crowds, bringing more people to the game and ensuring it isn't just a niche pursuit for "purists" stuck in a golden age which never existed?

Keep your success to yourself if that's your failure.

 

[AndyZaltzHair]

The core concept is remaining the same. It's not entirely becoming a whole new ball game like t20. The issues with the ball and other things will get sorted out with time and measure sooner than later I think. Can't expect everything to go smooth right from the beginning. Adaptibility is the name of the game.

 

[Jono]

I stand by the wanting it to fail statement and I've heard similar sentiments. You're not saving Test cricket if you morph into something completely different. You're just creating another form of the game. I'd probably rather watch a 5-day, 5-night match to a LO one but if those are my choices, I'm pretty upset. I know how money talks and if the Adelaide match isn't a roaring disaster where the ball performs like a pink lemon and everyone hates it - and it's just a minor failure - TV will get its way until it fails spectacularly.

This is confusing. Is it just because its at night that annoys you? Like if the ball doesn't behave weirdly and everything else works out, you'll still hate it because it is at night?

 

[Furball]

Haha sorry, I mean day-night Test. And Adelaide is a magnficent part of the world, that's not my issue either.

I mean, I'll watch it. I can't wait to see Kane graft out 4 hours for a superbly made 98, only to be bowled by a ball he literally never saw. Or watch either side bat through an entire daylight period on a completely flat one with a ball that plays like it's lost the air out of it.

Of course, the geniuses in TV will say 'hey, it rated better than day Tests - let's have them all the time!'. So hence why I hope it's a ****fest and I wish someone else was playing in it.

So how's that different to now when it gets close to the end of the day, it clouds over and the light deteriorates?

 

[Swingpanzee]

I just hope elements of the game like reverse isn't eliminated, but yeah it's an experiment so why not

 

[SteveNZ]

So how's that different to now when it gets close to the end of the day, it clouds over and the light deteriorates?

Difference being I don't imagine you can go off for light in a day-night Test, can you? I mean, what's the provisions around someone completely not being able to see the ball when there's already an expectation it's going to be dark? I don't imagine TV will be too pleased if around 7pm the batsmen wander off in prime time??

I've seen matches with pink balls, I've used them in the nets...I'm telling you, these things don't do what the others do. There's no evidence to show they reverse, or even swing much past 8-10 overs with a different lacquer on them. Hence they go softer quicker, don't come off the bat as fast, and don't bounce as much.

But yeah to answer Jono's question which is fair, if it was to play near exactly or close to how the red ball does now, no issue. If it completely changes the dynamic of the game and the spectacle, and players think it's a poor cousin to day Test matches, no thanks. And that's how I think it'll happen based on all evidence.

 

[G.I.Joe]

Difference being I don't imagine you can go off for light in a day-night Test, can you? I mean, what's the provisions around someone completely not being able to see the ball when there's already an expectation it's going to be dark? I don't imagine TV will be too pleased if around 7pm the batsmen wander off in prime time??

Please please please, I want this to happen.

 

[harsh.ag]

Difference being I don't imagine you can go off for light in a day-night Test, can you? I mean, what's the provisions around someone completely not being able to see the ball when there's already an expectation it's going to be dark? I don't imagine TV will be too pleased if around 7pm the batsmen wander off in prime time??

Do batsmen currently have issues with seeing the ball in night ODIs? Or do visibility issues differ for pink and white balls?

 

[mr_mister]

the second test i ever watched was at the waca and i watched it from sydney. at around 8:30 our time(my bedtime when I was 8) tubby taylor was batting late in the day but I didn't know about timezones or when test days ended so i just assumed day/night test cricket was a thing

 

[AndyZaltzHair]

Not sure why they are not being able to come up with a ball similar to characterstics with the red one but just differs in colour for visibility at night. With all the technologies you would think the matter should have been solved by now. Although kookaburra is claiming that the ball has now better visibility and brighter than before. Also it should be remembered that skill factor is also heavily involved in swing and reverse thing.

 

[SteveNZ]

Do batsmen currently have issues with seeing the ball in night ODIs? Or do visibility issues differ for pink and white balls?

Probably very occasionally they do...but yeah it's a much different visibility issue with the pink, which I'm led to believe is to do with the lacquer on the pink balls and its ability to lose colour much quicker than a white ball. Obviously bearing in mind we now use two white balls, which are very unlikely to discolour in 50 overs.

I'm sure there's very capable people working on the pink ball and it would be flippant to say we've put a man on the moon so why can't we produce a ball that can be seen at night and reacts in a similar way to the red ball. But as I've said before, trials have certainly not borne out that we're getting a ball that is going to be anything like we've seen before, and may affect how the game is played. The white ball has done that more subtlely but that's fine, ODI cricket was always its own new entity without anyone's desire for it to be like anything that came before.

Here's another issue - let's say the pink ball gets discoloured and the batsmen simply can't see it well at all. In a normal Test match, the fielding side are under no obligation to take a new ball from 80/160 etc overs. Do they continue to retain the right to replace it whenever they want? I mean if it's just gone nightfall and the ball is 80 overs old, why would you take a new one - especially if as trials have shown, the ball doesn't actually swing for that long anyway? Wouldn't you just be happier to think you can buy a wicket when a guy doesn't see it? All of a sudden, doesn't Lasith Malinga become massively relevant again as a Test cricketer? That doesn't sit well with me. And bugger me (but don't call me racist) good luck picking a sub-continent bowler at dusk with an old ball.

All of a sudden as I said before, Test cricket isn't Test cricket anymore - it's some 5-day, 5-night scenario where the whole dynamic completely changes. Thinking of declaring? Why not do it at 8.30pm, just as the sun falls. I dunno, maybe that's exciting that no longer is declaring overnight the best option.

So I'm not convinced that prime time TV eyeballs is all it's going to need to become a thing. International cricketers aren't going to let it wash to play some of their Tests in conditions that to use a stupid old phrase 'just ain't cricket'. They're already battling against 17 out of 20 of the NZ contract list saying they don't want it (and I know one of those who would've said let's do it, who isn't a Test cricketer), and by the sounds in the media plenty of the Aussie side too.

 

[AndyZaltzHair]

to be fair, i havent read anyone other than starc coming out with an official statement that its hard to see the ball. if this issue was more severe then i'm pretty sure other sheffield cricketers would come up with statements

 

[vic_orthdox]

to be fair, i havent read anyone other than starc coming out with an official statement that its hard to see the ball. if this issue was more severe then i'm pretty sure other sheffield cricketers would come up with statements

Have heard a few fielders talk about it being hard to see, especially from the outfield/side on. Pretty good for batsmen/keeper/slips.

 

[SteveNZ]

to be fair, i havent read anyone other than starc coming out with an official statement that its hard to see the ball. if this issue was more severe then i'm pretty sure other sheffield cricketers would come up with statements

WA batsman Cam Bancroft, who twice batted during the twilight period, said balls pitched up to the bat were particularly tough to face

“From a spectators point of view I am sitting up here watching the game and I am not actually seeing the ball,’’ Queensland coach Stuart Law said during the game.

“I am seeing the ball let go by the bowler and you are trying to track it down. I find it difficult to follow at night. I was struggling to see it and so was (team physiotherapist and former Test batsman) Martin Love.’’

“It feels like a bit of a tennis ball on to the bat,” said South Australian skipper Michael Klinger mid-way through day one at Adelaide Oval.

The bowling side’s preference for the older ball was laid bare when South Australia opted not to take the new ball late in the day, instead persisting with two spinners in what would usually be considered ideal fast bowling conditions.

 

[BeeGee]

Is the advent of day/night Test cricket a harbinger for a Test World Cup?

Firstly, have you been at the weed?

Secondly, can I have some?

Thirdly, how would a test world cup work? It'd either have to be ludicrously long or only involve a few top teams. Either way it's completely impractical, day night tests or not.

 

[NZTailender]

So why did they decide on pink and not, say, tennis ball yellow or hi-viz orange?

 

[Burner]

They should just go ahead and play tests at night with the red ball. Just throw the pink ball in the garbage and pretend it never happened.

Darknesss could just be the best thing to happen to test cricket. Batsman hacking and slashing like they are in a pinata party. Fielders running and diving to save themselves from the lofted ball. Bowlers politely asking: "Are you there?", before any attempt at sledging. Umpires getting a chance to stop embarassing themselves with silly signs and gestures and finally being able to use a mic like a DJ.

Just might be entertaining enough to fill the stands.

 

[Burgey]

Even if it's a raging success, I don't know if it's going to lead to a WC, simply because of the sheer amount of time it would take for the tourney. The only way I could see a Test WC taking off would be if it was a pure KO tourney based on seedlings where one plays the lowest ranked side, two plays the second lowest etc and every game was a KO. The problem, of course, is drawn matches. You would need to have the higher ranked side going through I suppose, which might lead to Sheffield Shield final scenarios where the top side can prepare a featherbed and bat for three and a half days.

Having said all that, a test WC would be awesome if there was time to do it properly, with round robin pool matches etc. just don't know if there will ever be enough time.

 

[cnerd123]

Not sure why they are not being able to come up with a ball similar to characterstics with the red one but just differs in colour for visibility at night. With all the technologies you would think the matter should have been solved by now. Although kookaburra is claiming that the ball has now better visibility and brighter than before. Also it should be remembered that skill factor is also heavily involved in swing and reverse thing.

1) Human eyes don't perceive all colours the same
2) Lighter colours fade and get dirtier faster, hence becoming harder to pick up
3) In order to prevent the lighter colours from discolouring for quick, a different dye or layer of polish has to be applied on the top
4) This different layer affects the ball's characteristics.

So why did they decide on pink and not, say, tennis ball yellow or hi-viz orange?

Yellow hard to spot on white kits under lights + discolours fast. Yellow's fine in the day time from my experience, but harder to pick under lights.

Not sure how Pink won over Orange tho. I've used Orange balls and they're fine. I think maybe because Pink is easier for the audience/cameras to spot? Or looks more like red?

 

[vic_orthdox]

WA batsman Cam Bancroft, who twice batted during the twilight period, said balls pitched up to the bat were particularly tough to face

“From a spectators point of view I am sitting up here watching the game and I am not actually seeing the ball,’’ Queensland coach Stuart Law said during the game.

“I am seeing the ball let go by the bowler and you are trying to track it down. I find it difficult to follow at night. I was struggling to see it and so was (team physiotherapist and former Test batsman) Martin Love.’’

“It feels like a bit of a tennis ball on to the bat,” said South Australian skipper Michael Klinger mid-way through day one at Adelaide Oval.

The bowling side’s preference for the older ball was laid bare when South Australia opted not to take the new ball late in the day, instead persisting with two spinners in what would usually be considered ideal fast bowling conditions.

Again, to be fair, that's from the previous season when all the reports were negative.

Last season the players were more convinced by it.