Reliving all three day-night Tests played in Australia
When day-night Tests were first introduced in 2015, people had their views for and against it. There were lots of questions concerning how the pink ball would behave in different conditions, whether it would last 80 overs et al. It was a step into the unknown.
Its main objective though was to revive Test cricket and bring fans to the stadium. Hence, it was first utilised in the Sheffield Shield before finally be tested in a Test match at Adelaide in November 2015.
It’s been a little more than two years since that first D/N Test between Australia and New Zealand was played in Adelaide and six D/N Tests have been played overall. Various boards around the world are accepting the innovation and are ready to experiment with it.
As Adelaide gets ready to host the 4th Day-Night Test in Australia (its 3rd and the first ever Ashes Day-Night Test), let’s have a look at the previous pink-ball Tests played in Australia.
#1 Australia vs New Zealand, Adelaide – November 2015
History was made at the Adelaide Oval in November 2015 when a new chapter was added to the history of the game. The Trans-Tasmanian rivals faced off in the first-ever Day-Night Test.
Trailing 1-0 in the three-match series, New Zealand opted to bat first in front of a jam-packed Adelaide Oval. The pitch had a decent covering of grass and Hazlewood took full advantage as he struck in the 4th over. But the conditions eased out as the afternoon progressed and New Zealand found themselves in a decent position at 80/2 after the first session. However, as the floodlights came on, the ball began to swing and New Zealand folded for 202.
Australia, in reply, reached 54/2 at the end of the first day’s play. But, New Zealand came roaring back on the second afternoon, reducing Australia to 116/8. However, a controversial DRS decision went against New Zealand (the Lyon incident where Hotspot clearly showed a mark on the bat) and they lost momentum allowing the hosts to amass 224.
In the second innings, New Zealand were bowled out for 208 as Hazlewood took 6/70 in the absence of Starc (who had fractured his right foot on day one). Chasing 187, Australia were in a tricky position at 66/3, but a gritty 49 from Shaun Marsh helped the hosts win a low-scoring thriller by three wickets.
Thus, the first ever D/N Test was a gripping one. Most of the questions surrounding the pink ball were answered and it suggested that pink ball Tests were here to stay.
Brief Scores: New Zealand 202 (Latham 50, Starc 3-24, Hazlewood 3-66) and 208 (Santner 45, Hazlewood 6-70, M Marsh 3-59) lost to Australia 224 (Nevill 66, Smith 53, Bracewell 3-18, Boult 2/41) and 187/7 (S Marsh 49, Boult 5-60).