The Sydney Test should become a day-night match or, at the very least, be played with a pink ball to avoid fans being robbed of play through bad light, Venues NSW chairman Tony Shepherd said on Saturday.
Cricket Australia opposed a day-night Test in Sydney because it would interrupt the Big Bash schedule, but chief executive Nick Hockley described playing the Test with a pink ball, which would coincide with the McGrath Foundation’s Pink Test, as an “interesting idea”.
The lights are on at the SCG on day one of third Test, but play is suspended.Credit:Brook Mitchell
Speaking as the fourth day’s play of the third and final Test against South Africa at the SCG was again delayed by bad weather, Shepherd said the farcical scenes on day one, when hours of play were lost due to bad light, should “never happen again”.
There was no support for moving the Test to earlier in the season to try and avoid the rain, with Shepherd, Hockley and batsman Usman Khawaja, who was left stranded on 195 not out on Saturday when Australia captain Pat Cummins declared, all opposing the idea. Day three was washed out on Friday, the 26th time Sydney has lost a full day’s cricket through rain, more than all other Australian Test venues combined.
Shepherd spoke to Hockley on Friday about the possibility of a pink ball Test.
“I said we can make it a pink ball Test and one of our directors, Jane Spring, suggested we sell the pink balls after the Test and put the proceeds into the McGrath Foundation,” Shepherd said on radio SEN.
Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne and Usman Khawaja leave the field due to bad light on day one at the SCG.Credit:Getty
“The alternative would be if you had that light issue at the end of the day, just have a packet of worn pink balls there and substitute them.
“In my view, cricket and all elite sports survive on fans, whether that’s eyeballs [on television] or present [at the ground]. We have to do everything in our power to make sure that doesn’t happen again.
“If it’s becoming more often with climate change and what have you that’s something we should fix, and if using a pink ball works, why not.
“We could do a day-nighter, or just use a pink ball for the whole game. I’m sure the McGrath Foundation would like a pink ball at the Pink Test.”
During the Test, Hockley said that replacing the lights in towers at cricket grounds throughout the country with new LED bulbs would help reduce problems with bad light, but Shepherd insisted this was not an issue at the SCG.
“The light towers are about as powerful as you can get,” Shepherd said. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the technology. I’ve checked it and have been told that if there was any more illumination we’d be blinding people. You could probably light half of Sydney with those towers. That’s not the issue.”
Hockley claimed scheduling would prevent Sydney becoming a day-night Test.
“It’s an interesting idea, and would really fit in with what has become one of the most iconic Test matches on the global cricket calendar,” he said. “The issue with a day-night Test here is that the Big Bash night matches are a really successful part of the calendar for fans and broadcasters. We’ve got cricket on TV effectively from 10am to midnight some days, which is a big part of the broadcast rights deal and gives fans so many options. It’s important in terms of encouraging more kids to play, too.
Umpires Chris Gaffaney and Paul Reiffel consult the light meter during the Sydney Test.Credit:Getty
“There has been discussion over the past few days about the pink ball and if there was a pink ball that could be developed that behaves like a red ball, [so] maybe a day Test here with a pink ball could be an interesting idea.”
Fox Sports general manager of cricket Matt Weiss is in favour of a Sydney day-night Test.
“We’re big supporters of the Pink Test pushing into prime-time,” he said. “It delivers terrific audiences and the crowds that go to pink-ball Tests have been good. You can see that in Adelaide. The public enjoy it, and we’d get right behind it. I think the players also enjoy it a lot now.
“You’d have to look at the Big Bash with 61 games. That would take out another five prime-time nights, which would create some difficulty scheduling.
“But with the Big Bash in the new rights deal going back to 43 games, I’d imagine that would be a lot easier to manage and a good idea.”
However, Australian spin bowler Nathan Lyon opposed any more day-night Tests beyond the annual fixture in Adelaide.
“God, no,” Lyon said on SEN. “You can play a day-night Test match as we see in Adelaide, but I think there is only a certain number of venues you can do that in the world, if I’m being honest. Adelaide has knocked that down to an absolute tee. It’s the best place to play day-night cricket. Here it’s red ball and that’s it.”
Glenn McGrath supported the day-night Test concept.
“I think a pink ball with the pink Test all goes together. I’d be happy with that,” he said.
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