Day Night Tests: Is The Future Of Cricket In Danger?

The day-night Test between two Ashes rivals got over as the hosts Australia trounced the visitors by 120 runs to take a 2-0 lead in the series. It was an abrupt change to the Test format for the visitors, who have been struggling with several issues,and failed to cope with the pink ball against Australian pacers. The match was played at Australia’s brand new hub of pink ball day-night cricket. This was the fourth time a day-night encounter was being played Down Under between the hosts and the visitors. On all three occasions before, Australia emerged the winner, and the trend only continued this time around. Nevertheless, the Australians have adopted Test cricket’s highly commercial genre day-night pink ball cricket better than any other team.

But, one point must be noted, and that is that all these matches were wrapped up either inside four days or the proceedings got over on the third day itself. Winning with a big margin, nevertheless, is a matter of pride of a Test cricket playing team. But, for fans, it is a matter of sadness. Test cricket is something which takes time, hence if a match gets over even before the fans settle down at their seat, it is a melancholic moment for the game.

Day-night an instant hit among the cricket fans

In India, the game’s custodian the Indian Cricket Council (ICC) introduced pink ball cricket with an objective to embrace the young fans in these fast-paced days. On the contrary, if a Test match gets over within three or four days it is a matter of sheer disappointment for genuine Test cricket fans.

So, day-night Test cricket, which was introduced to international cricket in 2015, remains a subject of debate to the cricket puritans. However, the pink ball cricket witnessed packed stadia as the format offers people a platform to enjoy their evening break after a day of hard work, and it is also a stage for people who spent an entire day at home. This is a new trend, and it is not visible in red ball Test cricket in the last one and a half decades.

The day-night Test cricket is a successful move in terms of embracing the spectators who turned their face away from the oldest format of the game due to their busy schedule. Red ball Test cricket is a commitment, and the pink ball version attempts to make it less so.

Pink ball: A nightmare for colour-blind cricketers

When the day-night Test is an instant hit amongst cricket fans, there are various issues which created a problem for many cricketers. For colour blind cricketers, the pink ball is a nightmare. Batsmen like Gary Ballance, Chris Rogers and Matthew Wade on many occasions expressed their problem with the pink ball. When a fast bowler unleashes the pink-ball the colour blind cricketers can’t see the ball, and in almost every team across the world, a colour-blind cricketer will be there.

When pink ball cricket was introduced to international cricket a portion of the cricket world raised their voice against this day-night Test match because they believed that it would destroy the charm of red ball cricket. But, this is not the first time a section of cricket community opposed a new innovation. In 2005, when Twenty 20 International was introduced the puritans ripped ICC apart as they thought that the shortest format of the game will affect Test cricket most. But, proving them wrong, T20 cricket has complimented the longest format as cricket has become fast-paced, batsmen are scoring runs fast and athletic fielders are now the norm, not the exception. These developments revitalize red ball cricket, and are good for the sport overall.

The new innovation is good, but ICC should take care of cricketers, as without them the game is nothing. In order to resolve colour blind cricketers' problem, ICC should introduce new technologies to the pink ball. Along with this, international cricket governing body should also take the necessary steps to find out the reason why the matches are not moving to the fifth day. If these problems are resolved, pink ball cricket will revitalize Test cricket. Without these measures, however, this innovation can level long-lasting consequences on the sport’s oldest format - Test cricket.