Cricket: Officials excited for day-night test, players less so

Australia's retiring test crickter Mitchell Johnson, right, and team mates Nathan Lyon, centre, and Mitchell Marsh. Photo / AP.

The head of cricket's players associations has urged patience from Cricket Australia as it appears to be charging ahead with plans for more pink ball tests.

Australia's officials are excited about the inaugural day-night test starting against New Zealand in Adelaide on Friday; their players less so.

The boss of the Federation of International Cricketers Association, Tony Irish, wants the idea to walk before it runs.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has confirmed it has been approached about a second day-night test in Australia next summer, most likely in Adelaide, but with Brisbane putting its up too.

Pakistan's team manager Zakir Khan will be in Adelaide this week to see how the match unfolds and to check whether the pink ball format would work in the United Arab Emirates, which is now Pakistan's de facto home.

''The day-night test and use of the pink ball is happening and I think the players should be given credit for being prepared to see the bigger picture and undergo the experiment, despite their reservations expressed collectively through their players associations and, in some instances, individually," Irish said.

''This match needs to be seen strictly as an experiment. If there's one thing that everyone agrees on, it's that the pink ball in test cricket is a big unknown."

Irish said the players' views after the test had to be essential to any decisions in the future.

''Test cricket is seen as the pinnacle format by the majority of international players. The fact that players value it so highly is critical to its survival as a format around the world.
''One really shouldn't mess too much with that."

As a sweetener to get the transtasman day-night test across the line, CA has put up $A1 million for the teams, in a 60-40 winner-loser split.

The day-night test is all about getting more bums on seats at test matches.

As to the pink ball concerns, CA chief executive James Sutherland has said seven years of work on the ball, along with player and broadcasting input, would not have been done for this week's match to be seen as a one-off.

Fica has concerns over player safety, and picking up the ball in the field under lights has been an issue.

''But I don't think we'd be going into the game if we didn't have a reasonably high level of comfort around these issues," Sutherland said.

As to who the pink ball would help more, faster or spin bowlers, the jury is out.

However indications that batsmen struggle to pick up the seam when spin bowlers are turning the ball, might suggest they could have an edge. However the consensus is seam and swing bowling can be highly effective under lights.

Australian offspinner Nathan Lyon said the day-night concept is ''perfect, because batters can't see the seam".