Cricket and cricketers are both inherently resistant to change. Every new feature is met with scepticism, slow adoption and, sometimes, rejection. The idea of Powerplay overs did not last very long in limited overs cricket, and the Super Sub was even more short-lived.
The Decision Review System, aka DRS, which was introduced several years ago, is still used selectively. Players often dispute the findings of a challenged decision, claiming, for instance, not to have edged the ball even when technologies such as Real Time Snicko and Hot Spot have provided evidence to the contrary.
So, the fate of arguably the biggest change in Test cricket in recent times, the Day/Night Test, was hanging in the balance too. With crowds dwindling, the cricket had to be nudged towards more competitiveness and excitement. Day/Night cricket would add a new dimension to each day’s play, as the ball would behave differently under lights. And it would allow spectators who were busy during the day to catch some cricket in the evening.
After 138 years and 2,189 Test Matches, the first ever Day/Night Test match took place between Australia and New Zealand at Adelaide in November 2015. This was also the debut of the pink ball, with the conventional red cherry being difficult to sight under lights.
Although future Day/Night test matches had already been planned, this match would decide if this new change would be greeted warmly.
The stage was set
The series had been extremely dull till then. The first Test had four Australians score centuries, while New Zealand took all of eight wickets in 170 overs. Australia won by 208 runs early on the fifth day. The second Test, which ended in a draw, had six different centurions (four Australians, two New Zealanders), two 250-plus scores, and over 1,500 runs scored at a run rate of over 4.
The series was crying out for a contest – and the pink ball delivered. The match was over within three days, the first time this had happened at the Adelaide Oval since 1951. The highest team score was 224, which two batsmen had gone past as individuals in the previous match. Australia needed 187 in the fourth innings, and when they were 66/3, they must have feared the worst. A late counter attack by their tail ensured that they won the first-ever pink ball match by three wickets.
The contest between bat and ball was much closer in the third Test. Whereas New Zealand had taken over 20 and close to 15 overs for each Australian wicket in the first two Tests, respectively. With the pink ball they took a wicket every seven overs or so. Australia, too, had by the best overs/wicket ratio (6.4) in the Third Test, even though they won the first Test by a much larger margin.
Building on the foundation
The foundation had been laid. Could it be built on? Had the cricket administrators finally made a change which could influence the game for the better?
The second Day/Night Test Match was played between Pakistan and West Indies in the United Arab Emitates almost a year later, in October 2016. Pakistan had won the last six matches (three One-Day Internationals and three Twenty20 Internationals) against West Indies, who had just sacked their coach, Phil Simmons.
There were two massive records in this match. The first was Azhar Ali’s 302 not out, which was the first triple hundred against West Indies for almost 60 years (the previous one was also by a Pakistani, Hanif Mohammad’s 337 in 1958). The second was Devendra Bishoo’s 8 for 49 for West Indies, which were the best ever figures by a visiting bowler in Asia.
West Indies went into the last day of the match needing 250 to win with 8 wickets in hand. All three results were still possible. Darren Bravo batted valiantly on the last day, scoring 116 and staying at the crease for close to seven hours. Pakistan finally claimed the last two wickets through run-outs, securing their narrowest margin of victory in the UAE (56 runs).
The following two Test matches in this series – regular day games – were far more one-sided, with Pakistan winning the second one by 133 runs and West Indies winning the third by five wickets. Once again it was the pink ball that provided the most competitive match of the series.
Thinking out of the box
The third Day/Night Test followed a month later, in November 2016, and was played between Australia and South Africa. The first two matches in the series had been comprehensively won by South Africa (177 runs, and an innings and 80 runs). Australia gave six players their debut in the third Test. Everything pointed to another win for the Proteas, but Australia ended up winning by seven wickets.
The strangest moment by far in this match came when the South African captain, Faf Du Plesis, declared while he was batting on 118 and the team’s score was still at a modest 259/9. This was the earliest ever declaration by a team, in terms of overs, in the first innings of a Test match unaffected by weather.
The reason for this declaration: David Warner, Australia’s explosive opener, would be unable to take his usual spot as an opener after spending time off the field. This declaration left the Australians fuming. Faf later confirmed that he had heard the umpires talking about how Warner had six minutes left before he could bat again, and he wanted to have a go at a makeshift opening pair under lights.
This decision ultimately had no effect on the Test match. In fact, Australia’s stand-in opener Usman Khwaja scored 145 and was adjudged Man of the Match. What it did show, though, is that playing under lights led to out of the box decisions – if the trend continues, the cricket can get very exciting indeed.
Test Match of the year
The fourth, and most recent, pink ball Test Match was played between Australia and Pakistan in December 2016. The Test looked to be heading for a one-sided finish with Australia setting Pakistan a mammoth target of 490. It seemed even larger, given the fact that Pakistan only made 142 in their first innings.
Even though Azhar Ali and Younis Khan put on 91 for the third wicket, Pakistan were teetering at 220 for 6 with only Asad Shafiq and the tail yet to bat. Mohammad Amir (48) and Shafiq put on Pakistan’s highest partnership of the match (92), and this was followed by another quick 64-run partnership between Shafiq and Wahab Riaz.
When the next partnership between Shafiq and Yasir Shah crossed 50, the Australians looked visibly concerned. Every run was cheered by the Pakistani fans. The deficit fell to under 50. Pakistan had two wickets in its kitty. More importantly, Asad Shafiq was still batting, now on his highest Test score and looking supremely confident. Unfortunately for him, he got an absolutely unplayable delivery from Mitchell Starc.
The fight put up by Pakistan’s lower order was lauded all over the world, with some even calling it the Test Match of the Year.
Give us more
In terms of crowds and Television Rating Points, the first day of the Day/Night Tests, between Australia and New Zealand, brought in a crowd of 47,441 on the first day, more than the total number over the entire previous Test .
And the final session on the first day (the session with the infamous declaration) was thehighest rated programme of the day”. Close to one million viewers tuned in.
The first four Day/Night Test matches clearly show that the governing body got this change right, with each match being historic in its own way. Records have tumbled, new strategies have been devised, and it has also given us the #TestMatchOfTheYear.
We should be seeing a lot more of Day/Night Test cricket now.