Published: Sep 21, 2016, 02:09 PM (IST)
Edited: Sep 21, 2016, 02:10 PM (IST)
Legendary Australian cricketer, former India coach Greg Chappell believes current cricketers need to make Day-Night Test cricket ‘work’, while asserting the fact that they also need to heed lessons from the pioneers from World Series Cricket in the late 1970s. Australia has been scheduled to play matches against South Africa and Pakistan in the coming summer, with the Pink ball. The one against the Proteas will be played at Adelaide whereas the one against Pakistan will be held at Brisbane. The South Africans were although, not reluctant about the concept. Their concerns regarding the Pink ball grew after Australian players complained about its visibility after the first Day-Night Test match between Australia and New Zealand.
A Pink ball with a black stitching, a variant of the Pink ball with white and green stitching used in the Adelaide Test then, was tried in the four-day matches between India A and Australia A. The players didn’t complain much, although the matches began at 9 AM and were not played under lights. READ: South Africa’s dilemma on day-night Test on Australia tour 2016-17 highlights fresh challenge to cricket
Meanwhile, Chappell believes, “You have got two choices – you can sit there and complain about it and rail against the innovations,” he said as quoted by The Herald Sun.”Or you can adapt and get better at it and make it work. While Pink ball cricket is a bit of a challenge for the players, it is something they have to adjust to,” he added. READ: Pakistan to play day-night Test vs West Indies at Dubai in October 2016
“There are great challenges for people to get to Test cricket during the day. If Test cricket doesn’t meet the public where the demand is, then the game suffers,” he said. Chappell who represented Australia in 87 Tests from 1970 to 1984, said current players need to learn from World Cricket Series in 1970s, which revolutionalised the game with coloured clothing and day-night cricket. READ: Gautam Gambhir expresses concerns over pink ball
“One of the first day-night games I played was at Waverley Park in Melbourne, and the lights seemed to be a couple of suburbs away. Out in the middle of the ground it still seemed dark to me. You would have struggled to read a book under the lights in that game, which were nowhere near the standard of modern lights,” Chappell said.
“Back then, we understood that one-day cricket and day-night cricket were important for the development of the game. It is the same sort of thing now.” he added.
