Cricket: Black Caps ready to savour delights of day-night test cricket again

Trent Boult celebrates a wicket during the first pink ball test. Photosport

This week's inaugural pink ball test in New Zealand will be the ninth played under lights, with the third coloured ball used in international cricket.

Australia, with four, have played the most of the eight, and it will be England's third in their last nine tests. For New Zealand, it will be their second outing with the pink, and first at home as the idea seems to be becoming locked into schedules, albeit on a drip-drip basis.

1: Australia beat New Zealand by three wickets, Adelaide, Nov-Dec 2015
New Zealand were the guinea pigs — albeit the deal sweetened by a $1 million pot split 60-40 on a winner-loser basis — as Australia pushed the pink ball initiative. The crowds flocked, 43,000 on the first day/night. Days two and three were pretty impressive too. It was warm and sunny and the buzz of excitement rippled around the ground from start to finish. A perfect start to the day-night concept. Australia won comfortably enough on the third evening, albeit after a scare from Trent Boult, who snared five wickets to put a brief spanner in the march to victory.

2: Pakistan beat the West Indies by 56 runs, Dubai, Oct 2016
Problems facing the pink ball under lights? Try telling champion Pakistani batsman Azhar Ali, who nailed a triple century against the Windies. That said, Pakistan's second innings, albeit when setting up a fourth innings chase, lasted just 31.5 overs as legspinner Devendra Bishoo bagged eight for 49.

3: Australia beat South Africa by seven wickets, Adelaide, Nov 2016
The pink ballers were coming in a rush. This time South Africa's captain Faf du Plessis did what New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum predicted before the inaugural match, that captains would need to think outside the traditional square in day-night tests. Du Plessis declared nine wickets down shortly before stumps on the first day to try and cash in on the evening atmospherics for his seamers. There was one early wicket but three centuries later, Australia were in charge and easily got to the target of 127.

4: Australia beat Pakistan by 39 runs, Brisbane, Dec 2016
Time for Cricket Australia to try another venue so step up the Gabba. Australia had this match under control most of the time, ahead by almost 300 at the turn, until late on when little Asad Shafiq played a terrific innings. Chasing 450, the last four wickets put on 230, Shafiq was second last man out for 137 made over close to six hours. The Aussies had a scare but their 100 percent winning record under lights at home stayed intact.

5: England beat West Indies by an innings and 209 runs, Edgbaston, Aug 2017
A debut at home under lights for England and a cake walk. Alastair Cook (243) and captain Joe Root (136) laid the platform and the hapless West Indies managed to last a combined 92.2 overs over two innings. It was to be a different story at Leeds a few days later but so far the Windies don't seem to fancy the lights.

6: Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by 68 runs, Dubai, Oct 2017
The vagaries of conditions showed up in Dubai as Sri Lanka batted 159.2 overs in their first innings and lasted just 26 second time round. Shafiq, again, led Pakistan's pursuit of 317 with another century, thus giving him the early dibs on the honour of being perhaps the batsman who most relishes batting against the pink ball under lights.

7: Australia beat England by 120 runs, Adelaide, Dec 2017
The sole occasion of these first eight tests that the toss-winning captain decided to sent the opposition in to bat. That man was Joe Root and 442 runs later....England trailed by 215 at halftime and were left 354 to win. Root's departure for 67 was the decisive dismissal as Australia marched to a 2-0 lead in the Ashes series, en route to a 4-0 victory.

8: South Africa beat Zimbabwe by an innings and 120 runs, Port Elizabeth, Dec 2017
Short and sharp. All over in 151.1 overs inside two days. Opener Aiden Markram scored a century; no Zimbabwe batsman reached 25. The most lopsided of the eight matches.