Cricket: How did the pink-ball test stack up at Eden Park?

Eden Park provided a kaleidoscope backdrop for day-night test cricket. Photo: supplied

Expect day-night tests to be persevered with, despite the relatively low crowd numbers recorded at Eden Park for the maiden pink-ball fixture.

New Zealand produced a convincing performance in the longest format, defeating England by an innings and 49 runs.

However, that success did not translate to the turnstiles, mainly due to rain affecting the match on Friday and Saturday when the biggest influx was forecast.

The onus went on Eden Park Trust and New Zealand Cricket to conjure up a sustainable spectacle.

A general hit of about 10,000 ticket sales per day was estimated to justify hireage costs understood to be around $500,000 for the duration of the test.

Of the fine days, the first brought 10,500 fans, the fourth brought 7,800 and the fifth was being sought from NZC at the time of writing.

Eden Park Trust chief executive Nick Sautner told Radio Sport that the weather affected attendance, but was convinced it held merit as a venue for future pink-ball contests.

"Even with a small crowd, you saw the atmosphere, particularly on Thursday [opening] night. Day-night cricket is ideally suited to Eden Park. It's a half-a-billion dollar asset and we need it used.

"We must be nimble and tailor staffing to the needs of the hirers. That might mean opening less gates if required, and minimising operational costs.

"A real challenge for us is the traffic management plans so we can work with Auckland council and transport to reduce the impact on residents and businesses."

"We all enjoyed it, even if two days of rain meant we lost momentum," New Zealand coach Mike Hesson added.

"We love test cricket and if [a day-night match] helps keep it alive then great."

NZC and the EPT made considerable efforts to accommodate fans. That included a "night market" of food trucks and a wealth of backyard cricket on the outer oval, as well as an artificial-turfed embankment full of bean bags and a pop-up barber's shop in the main ground.

Eden Park had not been used as a test venue for eight of the previous 11 summers.

"I would like to see more [events] but, that being said, it was a new concept and those initiatives will flow through to other events at the park," Sautner said.

"Who's to say we couldn't do it for All Blacks tests?"

The user-friendliness of the ground was vital in terms of illumination, hospitality, security and pitch quality as the venue came under scrutiny.

The cricketing public are aware contingency plans loom with fledgling work underway on a prospective new ground at Western Springs, if the speedway lease is not renewed in 2019.

Eden Park also faces competition from the Bay Oval lights in Mt Maunganui. That ground offers a viable day-night alternative within three hours' drive of Auckland and could be awarded a Sri Lanka or Bangladesh day-night test next summer.

The estimated capacity off 11,500 also trumps that of Seddon Park, despite the Hamilton-based venue being closer to Auckland.

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