The future’s pink – if new ball passes its big Test

The MCC’s John Stephenson will be watching avidly as Australia and New Zealand take Test cricket into a new era next weekend. Richard Edwards reports on the game’s rescue mission

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Test cricket is not known for embracing change but next Friday, under the lights of one of its most enduringly charming grounds, the Adelaide Oval, Australia and New Zealand will drag the sport kicking and screaming into what the ICC hopes will be a shiny new era.

If the day-night Test experiment succeeds, then a format struggling to maintain its relevance in the modern era could be given the shot in the arm it so desperately needs.

If that happens, the man behind its inception could be heralded as one of the most important figures in the sport’s 138-year history, a visionary at a time when, more than ever, Test cricket is struggling to capture the attention.

If it fails, then John Stephenson, the MCC’s head of cricket, fears the Test game may not only have squandered an opportunity but also put its future on the line.

“I’m very worried about the future,” Stephenson tells The Independent. “With Test cricket, we just can’t stand still, we have got to try things because it’s not an option to do nothing – we’ve done nothing for so long.

“What was it that James Sutherland [head of Cricket Australia] said? ‘We’re loving it to death.’ I like that expression. I don’t think broadcasters particularly enjoy broadcasting in front of empty stadiums.”

In England, that is not an issue that currently faces Sky, this summer’s Ashes series having been played in front of full, mainly ecstatic, houses. Overseas, though, the situation could not be more different.

The recent Test between India and South Africa – teams ranked fourth and first in the world respectively – drew a disappointing crowd in Mohali despite the huge wealth of talent on show. Australia’s first Test romp against the Kiwis at The Gabba then generated such a poor following that Dean Jones speculated that the ground’s Test future could soon be under threat. England’s tour of the United Arab Emirates, meanwhile, appeared at times to be played in front of one man and his heavily sweating dog.

So does Stephenson believe we are entering a period when the number of Test nations could be drastically reduced as a result of a lack of interest from the paying public?

“I think there is a danger of that happening, a massive danger,” he says. “A lot of Test cricket and a lot of bilateral series in general have no context. I know that’s something the ICC are really grappling with; they want to provide a context for Test cricket and ODIs. I don’t think anyone has got the answer to that at the moment, unless you produce a world Test championship and an ODI system where every ODI counts towards qualifying for a World Cup.

“Here it’s like a social occasion – people love coming to Lord’s to experience it and sit around drinking and socialising. It’s the perfect venue. We shouldn’t be seduced by that, though, because it’s clear that elsewhere in the world the format is really struggling to be relevant.”

Floodlights and a pink ball would appear an incongruous solution to the issue; even many of the players involved need some persuasion that this is what Test cricket’s future should look like.

Fears over the ball maintaining both its shape and colour were aired, notably by the Australia ODI all-rounder John Hastings, during the first round of Sheffield Shield matches, which effectively acted as the ball’s dress rehearsal for the Adelaide Test.

“There’s nothing perfect about the pink ball compared to the white ball or the red ball,” said Sutherland. “But at the same time there’s a lot of testing that’s been done for us to be satisfied that it’s the right-coloured ball, and it’s had enough research and development for us to be ready to play Test cricket [with it].”

But with ticket interest in the day-night match reaching “Ashes levels”, according to Sutherland, Cricket Australia and the MCC have every right to be optimistic before the experiment.

“I think sensible people won’t judge it on one match and the way Cricket Australia have done it means it will be a success,” Sutherland added. “I’ve always said that it’s extremely important that the first day-night Test is a success in terms of the crowd and how the game unfolds.

“It’s really important from a perception point of view, because everything is going to be so new and under the microscope, with television analysing every little nuance. I’m really pleased that the first one is going to be held under lights in Adelaide. The lights, the facilities, the weather conditions – all the boxes that you have to tick to make it a success are there.

“I’ve seen some of these longer-form pink-ball matches being played in sub-optimal conditions, with sub-optimal floodlights, and people judge it too quickly.”

For his part, Stephenson has been part of the push to introduce day-night Tests since the pink ball was first used in anger in a match between Scotland and MCC in 2008. Since then, it has been used in the domestic Second XI Trophy, the MCC Universities T20 competition and the Champion County game, held in Abu Dhabi under lights since 2010.

Stephenson played in that first match at Lord’s seven years ago and remembers “swinging the ball all over the place”.

Australia’s pace attack will hope that trend continues in Adelaide next week. The world will be watching.