First night Test puts pink ball in spotlight

The words of the World Series Cricket boss Kerry Packer years ago stayed with them: "You guys need to find a ball you can play Tests at night".

The idea was mooted that the English county season opener be moved from Lord's - where it was an invariably wet and gloomy occasion - to Abu Dhabi and use a pink ball. Research had been done before then and the Imperial Business College in London had been commissioned to do studies into the idea.

Kookaburra, makers of Australian balls, were also doing some investigations of their own. "The problem with the pink ball was red is the only colour that naturally infuses in the leather," Bradshaw said. The solution came in the form of titanium dioxide which, when coated on a ball enabled any colour to blend in and hold its colour.

Orange and green balls were tried. Orange showed a comet trail on television; green didn't work for colour-blind watchers. So pink it was. Games were played around the world, notably the Caribbean and in Australia, where a round of day-night Sheffield Shield games has been played for each of the last three seasons.

The anecdotal evidence of how matches have played out with the pink ball compares favourably with the outcomes and patterns from red- ball cricket.

Pink ball timeline:

January 2008: The first trial of pink-ball cricket between Queensland and Western Australia women in Brisbane.

April 2008: The pink ball debuts at Lord's in a 50-over game between an MCC XI and Scotland. Both a pink Kookaburra and the English Duke ball were trialled.

2009: The MCC makes a recommendation to experiment with pink balls.

January 2010: West Indian Lendl Simmons scores the first century with a pink ball in the first day-night fixture played in the Caribbean, when Trinidad and Tobago played Guyana in Antigua.

February 2010: The MCC oversees pink-ball tests in IPL with Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Daredevils using them in the nets.

March 2010: The MCC conducts the first trial of day-night first-class cricket in Abu Dhabi, with Durham playing the MCC in the traditional English season opener.

March 2011: Indian star Rahul Dravid scores a pink-ball century for MCC against Nottinghamshire in Abu Dhabi.

September 2011: The pink ball is trialled in a county match between Kent and Glamorgan at Canterbury. 2012:

The ICC officially back day/night Test cricket, dependent upon two member nations agreeing to the playing conditions.

March 2014: First-class trials of pink-ball cricket take place in Australia's Sheffield Shield.

June 2014: Cricket Australia's James Sutherland and New Zealand Cricket's David White confirm a joint commitment to stage the first day-night test.

June 29, 2015: The first day-night test is confirmed for Adelaide next week.

Since the announcement that Adelaide would be pink, New Zealand's players have been consistently positive - or at least not negative - over the match.. They have taken the view it is what it is, don't waste time grumbling, just get on with preparation. Before heading to Australia, they had a couple of practice days in Hamilton with pink balls.

"It's something to look forward to, be part of history and play in front of hopefully a full house. Is going to be something special," senior bowler Tim Southee said. "I guess we've got to go in with an open mind. Our main goal is to level the series."

Where do the greats sit:

Former Australian captain Steve Waugh: "We need some sort of stimulus, something to get people interested, talking about test cricket again. If we get people to the game then that's got to be great for test cricket."

Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen: "Who wants to see a new ball at certain grounds around the world at 8 o'clock at night under lights? Are you mad?"

Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting: "I've been against it the whole time. I understand the reasons behind wanting to innovate but at the same time I think test cricket is all about history and tradition."

Former Australian captain and batting great Greg Chappell: "Only time will tell, but the envelope has to be pushed if test cricket is to maintain its position as the pre-eminent format of the game well into this century when faced with the challenges of modern society and from other entertainment forms."

Wicketkeeping great Adam Gilchrist:"I've got my doubts. It's an experiment I've not overly supportive of, but I'm happy to stand corrected."

Adelaide Oval hours of play:

The first day-night test will still be seven hours' cricket each day, but with a twist. Play will start at 2pm and run until 4pm when there will be a 20-minute "afternoon tea" break. The second session will be from 4.20pm to 6.20pm when the 40-minute dinner break will take place. The final session will run from 7-9pm. The idea of the break time is to avoid the trickiest part of the twilight period, when batting is at its most problematic.

- NZ Herald