Cricket Tests at night like a light going on

Traditions are important, but the move to boost interest after dwindling crowds is a natural change in the game.

Cricket purists were struck by another bouncer this week when it was announced the Black Caps will play Australia in the first ever day-night test at the Adelaide Oval in November. They were not the only ones reeling from the blow. An unlikely ally emerged in the form of tearaway Australian paceman Mitchell Johnson, who spoke of the importance of the tradition of the game.

Yet there was always an inevitability about this development. So much so that there can be little doubt it will be an outstanding success in terms of both ground attendance and television ratings.

The initiative, which has been pursued for some time by Cricket Australia's James Sutherland, needs to be seen in the context of test cricket's appeal. It is, and always will be, the truest and fairest examination of players' prowess with the bat and ball. But in most countries, attendances at tests have been dwindling for many years. Attempts to foster greater interest, most notably through a Test Championship, never got off the ground.

And the roaring success of Twenty20 cricket drew further attention from the five-day game.

Using day-night matches to revitalise interest has a strong logic. Sitting in the sun watching test cricket is wonderfully relaxing for those who have the time and aptitude for it. But on the basis of time alone, a large percentage of the population are excluded. Cricket Australia reckons attendances will swell in the early evening as children arrive from school and their parents come in after work. Television audiences will multiply for the same reason. The latter has certainly proved the case when Australians on the east coast have got to watch tests at Perth in their evening.

The players seem less enamoured of the concept than the administrators. Mitchell Starc, who played for New South Wales in a day-night Sheffield Shield match last summer, spoke disparagingly of the pink Kookaburra balls that will be used. They did not, he said, swing like the red ball and they went soft quickly. For fielders, they were also difficult to pick up at night. No New Zealand player stepped forward to offer similar criticisms but Heath Mills, of the Players' Association, indicated there were concerns. These were being surmounted, he said, by a focus on "the bigger picture". This sees the Black Caps playing Australia far more regularly as part of a seven-year deal.

It is understandable that players may be apprehensive about the unknown. But their predecessors were much the same when one-day matches first became day-night fixtures. There was all sorts of talk about problems with the ball and the lights, and the complications raised by day passing into night, not least the onset of dew. But all these concerns were dwarfed by the spectacle of crowds flocking to stadiums and television sets. Teams, recognising the success of the concept, were quick to adapt their tactics to the conditions.

The same will surely happen with test cricket. Even while retaining its status as the game's purest form, it has continued to evolve. Most recently, Australia, and now New Zealand, have accelerated the run rate to make it more entertaining. Playing test cricket at night is a natural progression. In years to come, the match in Adelaide will be recognised as the time test cricket saw the light. - NZ Herald