Night games are reminiscent of childhood which is like a dream and gives the impression that you can touch and touch what you see
Night games are reminiscent of childhood which is like a dream and gives the impression that you can touch and touch what you see
The natural home of Test cricket in the 21st century includes the pink ball, artificially lit fields and the dinner break. ODIs went there (with a white ball, then colored clothes) almost four decades ago, but it is a special pleasure to watch the players in white gliding on the grass.
There is also a new set of challenges. No one has figured out why the ball swings more under lights, for the time being, it’s a seamer’s play. The current theory is that the lacquer coating on the pink ball has something to do with it. But then similar theorists have led us for generations to believe that rubbing a red ball with spit or sweat makes it swing more.
Now that the practice has been banned due to health reasons following the outbreak of Covid, bowlers get the same swing of the ball as it was before.
The batsmen have to deal with rejuvenating fast bowlers while the bowlers, especially the spinners, have to find a way to deal with the late evening dew which loses their control. And both have to come with the possibility of a drop in temperature, the phase of transition to twilight, and the possibility of misidentifying the pink ball’s motion under these conditions.
ask new questions
Thus, for those who believed that there was nothing more to be discovered in this great sport, the day/night Tests ask new questions. The solution will be found, as they have always been. The journey towards such solutions will also be fascinating.
Something magical happens in Test cricket at night for the spectators. Visually, as the sun sets and the lights come on, it has the quality of a fairy tale. I saw my first day/night game in Sydney thirty years ago. And then I wrote with a hesitation, that maybe this is the future of Test cricket. The longer format did not then face the kind of existential threat it does today. Now I believe day-night Tests are the right thing to do.
Cricket originated as a rural sport and early writings on the game romanticized its esoteric origins, the red ball on the green grass under the sun, and so on. A pink ball on the green grass under floodlights can be just as romantic and more aesthetically pleasing. Probably because there is more focus in a tight space to make up for the lack of distractions in the distance.
Or because it’s like watching the action through a toy that was popular in my childhood, the Viewmaster, where you saw Cinderella’s Castle or Alice in Wonderland in vivid colors and 3-D. Night cricket evokes a childhood memory that is like a dream and gives the impression that you can touch and touch what you see.
effect of tv
Innovation is down to television seeking a larger audience and not because the audience is likely to have an aesthetic experience. But just because television loves Test cricket day and night, doesn’t make it bad by itself!
With so many innovations – 50-over cricket, DRS, T20 format – India was slow to adopt it. Now that they have comfortably won all the three day-night Tests they played at home, perhaps we will see more matches being played here. Administrators need to win to justify any change.
In addition to aesthetics, there are also solid practical reasons. Spectator convenience, for one. Creating flexible working hours around a Test match is more easily done, especially now that working from home is an accepted option. The five-day Test, which often provoked articles on lost man-hours, would no longer be seen as a villain. Whatever brings crowds to Test cricket is worth a try.
However, both the spectators and the players need to get used to it. Meal times tend to be odd, and watching in Bangalore is like watching a game in England on television, timings are almost identical.
And as much as I tried, I couldn’t get over the feeling that the pink ball looked like it was made of plastic. But those are personal biases. The fact that all 19 Tests played so far have ended conclusively (and early) means that the batsmen have work to do to counter the dominance of the bowlers. As Australia’s Pat Cummins put it, “Things happen quickly.”
Ahead of the Sri Lanka Test, Jasprit Bumrah put it bluntly: “You have to make mental changes. We are not used to catching the pink ball, bowling with the pink ball and playing against the pink ball as a batsman. We are still quite new to this format.”
In cricket, you are generally facing two opponents – the opponent team and variable conditions like weather, lighting, pitch conditions. Floodlights and a pink ball add another dimension to a five-day game that can often trigger a brief but focused display.
Like Rishabh Pant’s record of 50 runs in 28 balls – a magical innings in a magical night of cricket.