Pink Ball Day-Night Test Cricket
ALIVE|November 2016

Overall, day-night Test cricket using a pink ball seems to have come to stay. 

Vijayan Bala
Pink Ball Day-Night Test Cricket

The ICC is keen on introducing day-night Test cricket using a pink ball on a regular basis. The first such Test was played from 27 November 2015 between Australia and New Zealand at Adelaide. The match ended in three days with the pacemen dominating.

In fact, if the third umpire Nigel Llong had not incorrectly judged Australia’s Nathan Lyon not out, the match’s duration could have been shorter with New Zealand and not Australia winning the Test.

That Test was a low scoring one. New Zealand won the toss, batted first and scored 202. In reply, Australia were struggling at 116 for 8-still 86 runs behind on the first innings. A run later Australia’s Lyon got the benefit of the third umpire’s error and the match turned greatly in Australia’s favour.

Peter Neville, the Australian keeper who scored 66, put on 74 for the ninth wicket with Lyon and 34 for the last wicket with Starc and Australia ended its first innings at 224 – taking a crucial 22 run first innings lead when they should probably have been way behind.

To the credit of the Kiwis, they took the umpire’s error in their stride and scored 208 in the second innings. Australia went on to win the Test by three wickets. The Test was dominated by the pacemen of both sides who took 29 wickets in all out of the 37 that fell.

Too much swing

In that Test, the pink ball not only swung a little too much under lights but was also not easily visible to the players. The visibility of the seam caused a lot of problems. The green thread which was used to stitch the ball together did not stand out as prominently as the white thread on the red ball did. There was also apprehension about how long the ball would last in drier conditions.

This story is from the November 2016 edition of ALIVE.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the November 2016 edition of ALIVE.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM ALIVEView All
The Deadly Roads
ALIVE

The Deadly Roads

Between 2000 and 2015, governments have registered 1,649,770 accidents and 1,039,372 fatalities. And over 50 lakh persons were injured, many handicapped and traumatised for life.

time-read
6 mins  |
October 2016
How Well Does Facebook
ALIVE

How Well Does Facebook

This social site interface judges your personality traits using data fed by you.

time-read
3 mins  |
October 2016
Murder At Midnight
ALIVE

Murder At Midnight

Some events are beyond the limits of earthly explanations.

time-read
4 mins  |
October 2016
Are Builders Following Suit Of Mallya
ALIVE

Are Builders Following Suit Of Mallya

It is a tough challenge for the Modi Government to round up the big defaulters and compel them to cough up the dues they owe to the country.

time-read
9 mins  |
April 2017
UP Shocker
ALIVE

UP Shocker

Smajawadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party may take some time to come out of this shock.

time-read
9 mins  |
April 2017
Is Gujarat On The Way To Fascism?
ALIVE

Is Gujarat On The Way To Fascism?

People are forced to change their food habits out of fear of life imprisonment for killing or eating a cow.

time-read
6 mins  |
June 2017
Battle Over Cattle
ALIVE

Battle Over Cattle

With the matter all set to go to court, the Centre finds itself on a precarious footing.

time-read
3 mins  |
June 2017
Cows Get Legal Protection
ALIVE

Cows Get Legal Protection

Butchers now cannot procure cows from cattle fairs or mandis for slaughtering.

time-read
5 mins  |
June 2017
Oil Pollution In Seas An Untold Disaster
ALIVE

Oil Pollution In Seas An Untold Disaster

Countries around the world are awakening to this new problem that is endangering the marine life.

time-read
4 mins  |
June 2017
China Woes Vietnam: Concern For India
ALIVE

China Woes Vietnam: Concern For India

The Dragon is wooing the tiny Southeast Asian nation to wean it away from India.

time-read
7 mins  |
March 2017