Cricket Australia confirms Adelaide to host Day-Night Test against South Africa

A Day-Night Test at Adelaide has been confirmed by Cricket Australia after South Africa agreed for the fixture. Adelaide will host the third and final Test of the tour. The match will be held between November 24 and November 28. This comes as huge relief for the Australian board, who feared a setback following reluctance of few South African players regarding the day-night Test. Earlier, players like AB de Villiers, Dale Steyn, Kagiso Rabada had shown their reluctance in playing under night conditions. The first Day-Night Test was played between Australia and New Zealand at Adelaide, which witnessed over 100,000 people attending the match. ALSO READ: Finch’s heroics in vain as SA trounce AUS by 47 runs

Hinting at the success of the first ever Day-Night Test, Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland said, “Nearly 124,000 people attended the inaugural day-night Test match in Adelaide last year and there has been great anticipation about future day-night Tests since … I would like to acknowledge the open manner in which Cricket South Africa and the South African Cricketers Association have worked through this matter with us. We look forward to welcoming the South African players to Australia in late October and offering them the best possible preparation ahead of the series.”

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Speaking about their decision to play under lights at Adelaide, Cricket South Africa chief executive Haroon Lorgart said, “Our Proteas were initially hesitant to play such a key Test match without previous experience and adequate preparation, but after working through all their concerns and possible options to prepare sufficiently, there is newfound excitement for this novel Test match. Our players deserve credit for the way they have worked through the issues which were clearly not insignificant,” reported ESPNcricinfo.

South Africa Cricketers Association chief Tony Irish echoed similar thoughts, saying “The players looked at all the pros and cons of playing this. There are still legitimate concerns around the ball, as it is fundamentally different to a red ball or white ball. Some players will find it more difficult to see, it behaves differently and conditions have to be tailored to make it last. So there will be a number of unknowns in what is likely to be a crucial match for the Proteas against a team who has some experience of these conditions.”

“What has changed now, however, is the players’ willingness to take a bold step and play a pink ball match sooner rather than later, given the recent announcements from other countries that they will soon start playing day-night Tests. This has never been about money. Cricket Australia has not offered the players extra money and we haven’t asked for money.”