South Africa’s dilemma on day-night Test on Australia tour 2016-17 highlights fresh challenge to cricket

These are still very early days, but cricket fraternity’s apprehension over day-night Test cricket has brought a new challenge for the sport. Introduced as a way to popularise cricket and bring more viewers and mainly revenue, day-night Test cricket is likely to have success, but not before crossing few hurdles. The primary challenges are in-house, as cricketers have their fair share of doubts and dilemmas as to how to prepare and approach it. South Africa, who are expected to face Australia in a day-night Test Down Under later this year, are justified in being divided over desires of Cricket Australia (CA).

It is not the case that the pink cricket ball, manufactured meticulously by Kookaburra over the past few years with Cricket Australia, is the issue. As far as manufacture of the pink cricket ball is concerned, Indian cricket board may ask Sanspareils Greenlands (SG) to prepare them in future. Dukes are already making the pink balls.

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The biggest trouble lies in players not being habituated with it. They have had trouble keeping a track of it when it rolls along the grass, and the change in colour as play progresses makes it even more difficult for the wicketkeepers to collect. The ball is double-coated with the pink colour to ensure that the colour is stays on for long, which means that the ball may tend to remain ideal for fast bowlers and may not favour spinners, who depend on wear and tear to impart turn. Those who maintain the ball well will naturally have the advantage. ALSO READ: Pakistan to use pink-balls for First-Class final

And then, playing day-night Test cricket with the pink ball will require greener wickets, which we get to see traditionally in England and New Zealand. How conducive wickets for day-night Test cricket to last long for five days can India produce is something that only time can tell.

Then there are other complications. The ball that remains shiny and is well-maintained by the bowling side will tend to assist the fast bowlers more. On venues where dew starts playing havoc on the bowling teams, playing with the pink cricket ball may not be a great idea. Think about this: Ravichandran Ashwin, India’s ace bowler, struggling to grip the Kookaburra ball on, say, a wicket tailor-made for spinners because of the dew in the evening.

The Indian cricket board has decided to jump the bandwagon and have a day-night Test with New Zealand. While New Zealand Cricket (NZC) are yet to confirm their acceptance, it can be assumed that they will not necessarily oppose Indian cricket board’s wishes. BCCI will have to be at their best in choosing the venue in case the day-night Test happens later this year in India, as there are several factors that can have heavy influences. Dew, greener wicket, and New Zealand’s superior seam attack are something that the Indian cricket board cannot undermine.

If at all India and New Zealand have a day-night Test, the game will be played with a pink Kookaburra ball. BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur has said the board’s official supplier of the cricket balls for all international and domestic cricket in India — SG — may be asked to prepare the pink balls but the quality will have to be as good as that of Kookaburra.

The first-ever day-night Test with a pink ball lasted only three days, in an Australian win over New Zealand. The contest had a prize money of $ 1 million divided 60-40 in winners and losers — an offer put forth by CA according to ESPNCricinfo. While CA must be commended for doing everything to ensure Test cricket get some variation, day-night Test and pink cricket ball — whoever improvises and manufactures it best — have a very long way to go.

(Devarchit Varma is senior writer with CricketCountry. He can be followed on Twitter @Devarchit)