CA urges India to play Pink Ball Test during next tour

ADELAIDE:With We have lost that group of fans (who like day-night Tests) for this Test. We are looking forward to day-night Test coming back to Adelaide. KEVIN ROBERTS, CA chief executive

the turnout in the opening Test not quite up to their expectation, Cricket Australia has urged India to reconsider their opposition to day-night Tests and play under lights in Adelaide in their next tour Down Under.

Officials in Australia said they were worried after a modest 23,802 turned out for the opening day of the Test series in Adelaide on Thursday, the lowest day-one attendance since the venue was redeveloped in 2013.

There were 55,000 for day one of the Ashes opener in Adelaide last year, 32,255 on the corresponding day against South Africa a year earlier and 47,441 for the first year against New Zealand, the CA stated.

Thursday’s attendance was also lower than the 25,619 who turned up for an India-Australia clash here four years ago (which was a day match).

Asked if the poor crowd attendance had convinced him that the Adelaide Test should be day-night, Cricket Australia chief executive Kevin Roberts said: “Absolutely. It matters what the fans think and they’ve voted with their feet. Those numbers (in previous years) are incredible.”

“No doubt we have lost that particular group of fans (who like day-night Tests) for this Test. We are looking forward to the daynight Test coming back to Adelaide,” he told SEN Radio.

Roberts said he hoped that the BCCI would agree to a day-night for the next tour here in 2020-21.

“Let’s hope so. We will take it one step at a time. We embrace that they (BCCI) have a different view of this Test match but we hope in time, with the sentiment from fans, we can have a daynight Test,” he said.

“We hope that the sentiment from fans is something India can see,” he added.

India continues to reject playing with a pink ball, whether at home or on the road. As Australia played four Tests under lights, the BCCI felt the home side would have had an unfair advantage this summer if the Indians played with the pink ball. Under current ICC rules, the touring team can deny the home board’s fixture requests, but that may change from next year when the new future tours programme begins.