DAY-NIGHT TEST

BCCI in talks with ECB, CA for day-night Test

by Cricbuzz Staff • Published on

BCCI have reached an agreement with CA to play a four-day game with pink balls during India A's tour of Australia. © Cricbuzz

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has reportedly approached the England and Wales Cricket Board with the proposal of playing a day-night Test after New Zealand turned down India's offer. While the ECB is yet to convey their decision, the board is also believed to be in talks with Cricket Australia for the same when they tour India next year.

New Zealand expressed their apprehension of partaking in a pink-ball Test in Indian conditions and informed the BCCI of the same a few weeks ago. "The New Zealand board is not willing to play day-night Test as they are not comfortable with the Indian conditions," a top BCCI official was quoted saying by the Indian Express on Monday (June 13). "There are various reasons, for instance the dew factor and ground conditions.

"New Zealand played the first day-night Test against Australia and players could not find batting and fielding easy at dusk. So BCCI has got in touch with ECB and Cricket Australia to find out if they are interested in playing one day-night Test when they travel to India," he confirmed.

The Test was initially speculated to be played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata after Sourav Ganguly was found persuing the idea of his home ground hosting the fixture. Now, however, Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium is in line to host it.

Whilst a decision on whether Australia will participate in a pink ball Test early next year hasn't been taken yet, CA and BCCI have agreed on playing a pink ball four-day game during India A's tour of Australia in August. India A is slotted to play two four-day games and a tri-series which also includes South Africa.

Kookaburra, the company that manufactures the pink ball, will send some sample balls to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore where they will be tested as the BCCI believes that if the ball retains its shine, the essence of the contest will be lost.

"If the shine remains then the ball will swing more but it will be of no help to spinners. There will no natural wear and tear, and will also impact the reverse swing. So it was decided to test it in NCA first," a BCCI source said.

© Cricbuzz