Just imagine 10 years ago from today, someone said that test match to be played under the light. It would have been impossible in the wildest of dreams. It was always a classical and purest form of the game where spectators used to soak into the grueling exhaustive battle between the bat and ball. The sub-continental weather was always tough for the visiting team due to energy soaking heat. However, against all these odds, both the team used to lock horn to win the contest. These are the factors that made this form unique from every other format. It attracted the fans like a magnet to fill up the stands irrespective of scorching heat in the summer or chilling morning in winter. Even in a rain-affected game, people used to stay all day in the stadium without a roof over their heads just to enjoy a little stretch of play even if there is slightest of chance. It was that much popular in those times.
However, as the game evolves in its natural way, the popularity of the longer format went on to decline as the shorter problem started to take the center stage in the mind of the people. With a jam-packed schedule in everyone's life, it is very hard for the fans to take 7-8 hours out of your day to watch a test match and that for five continuous days. Instead, they prefer to take a little glance at the scoreboard thanks to the availability of the internet to everyone. At the max, they go to watch T20 matches which is only for 3 hours infused with excitement, high blood rush, glamour and glory. These shorter formats are suppressing the oldest one.
See Also : "Bushfire Cricket Bash - a step towards humanity"
So, to keep this format alive, ICC has come up with a bunch of new ideas. One of which is the proposal of 4 days test which is at a very nascent stage. The other modification, which has been rolled out, is the introduction of the day-night Test. The fans can show up in the stadium after office hours and can enjoy the final session. The more numbers are expected in the gallery. Also, the battle is more exciting under lights with the heat getting down. Although, it has invited a huge difference in opinions regarding whether the nature of the game will be maintained or not. The main challenge will be the color of the ball. The red ball quickly goes off-color and it is very hard to pick in the black sky. So, as an alternative, they have adopted a pink colored ball and extra lacquer is used to maintain the color.
This has made certain changes in the essence of the game. This additional lacquer helps the seamer to extract extra swing that is unpredictable to the batsman. This behavior of the ball has also made the spinner less effective. In the match between India and Bangladesh, we saw Ashwin was hardly used by Kohli, which is a very rare scene in sub-continent pitch. Also, in the night session, the dew factor comes into effect and takes the spinner completely out of the equation. Also, we see the traditional pattern of pitch's nature which is good to bat on Day 1 and 2 and it diminishes day by day and as we approach the fifth day, it is very difficult to bat on. But here, the graph will be a bit different. The most difficult time to bat on is the dusk time where artificial light takes over from natural light. It is very important for the batsman to adjust the changeover and thus make it the hardest time to bat. But when the floodlights are in effect with a full swing, the ball comes to the bat nicely making the batting easier. So, the team strategy is to be changed and more preference is given to the fast bowler. Also, the orthodox tactics of winning the toss and electing to bat in the sub-continent is no longer that effective. So, the dimension of the game is changing and the teams need to adjust quickly to grasp this format.
Let's take a look at the stats which is although too small to derive any pattern. The first-ever day-night test was played back in 2015 between two Oceanian giant Australia and New Zealand in picturesque Adelaide Oval. The team batted first has won 6 out of 11. The average score in the first and second innings has almost 100 runs difference. The pace bowling is far more superior than the spin under these circumstances. So, very little can be derived about the pattern which is re-enforcing the fact that more unpredictability has been injected into the format.
To sum up the whole discussion, we can say it is a effective pro-commercial step to attract more spectators towards the game. But it will change the core of the game. The classical approach is going to be scrapped by the team as time goes on and new strategies are expected to be adopted. Maybe this is for the betterment of the game. But it should not be the only format this game to be played. The old purest format still needs to be continued to keep the game in its shape. But this is surely going to be the future of the game.
However, as the game evolves in its natural way, the popularity of the longer format went on to decline as the shorter problem started to take the center stage in the mind of the people. With a jam-packed schedule in everyone's life, it is very hard for the fans to take 7-8 hours out of your day to watch a test match and that for five continuous days. Instead, they prefer to take a little glance at the scoreboard thanks to the availability of the internet to everyone. At the max, they go to watch T20 matches which is only for 3 hours infused with excitement, high blood rush, glamour and glory. These shorter formats are suppressing the oldest one.
See Also : "Bushfire Cricket Bash - a step towards humanity"
So, to keep this format alive, ICC has come up with a bunch of new ideas. One of which is the proposal of 4 days test which is at a very nascent stage. The other modification, which has been rolled out, is the introduction of the day-night Test. The fans can show up in the stadium after office hours and can enjoy the final session. The more numbers are expected in the gallery. Also, the battle is more exciting under lights with the heat getting down. Although, it has invited a huge difference in opinions regarding whether the nature of the game will be maintained or not. The main challenge will be the color of the ball. The red ball quickly goes off-color and it is very hard to pick in the black sky. So, as an alternative, they have adopted a pink colored ball and extra lacquer is used to maintain the color.
This has made certain changes in the essence of the game. This additional lacquer helps the seamer to extract extra swing that is unpredictable to the batsman. This behavior of the ball has also made the spinner less effective. In the match between India and Bangladesh, we saw Ashwin was hardly used by Kohli, which is a very rare scene in sub-continent pitch. Also, in the night session, the dew factor comes into effect and takes the spinner completely out of the equation. Also, we see the traditional pattern of pitch's nature which is good to bat on Day 1 and 2 and it diminishes day by day and as we approach the fifth day, it is very difficult to bat on. But here, the graph will be a bit different. The most difficult time to bat on is the dusk time where artificial light takes over from natural light. It is very important for the batsman to adjust the changeover and thus make it the hardest time to bat. But when the floodlights are in effect with a full swing, the ball comes to the bat nicely making the batting easier. So, the team strategy is to be changed and more preference is given to the fast bowler. Also, the orthodox tactics of winning the toss and electing to bat in the sub-continent is no longer that effective. So, the dimension of the game is changing and the teams need to adjust quickly to grasp this format.
Let's take a look at the stats which is although too small to derive any pattern. The first-ever day-night test was played back in 2015 between two Oceanian giant Australia and New Zealand in picturesque Adelaide Oval. The team batted first has won 6 out of 11. The average score in the first and second innings has almost 100 runs difference. The pace bowling is far more superior than the spin under these circumstances. So, very little can be derived about the pattern which is re-enforcing the fact that more unpredictability has been injected into the format.
To sum up the whole discussion, we can say it is a effective pro-commercial step to attract more spectators towards the game. But it will change the core of the game. The classical approach is going to be scrapped by the team as time goes on and new strategies are expected to be adopted. Maybe this is for the betterment of the game. But it should not be the only format this game to be played. The old purest format still needs to be continued to keep the game in its shape. But this is surely going to be the future of the game.
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Great Blog! Thank you for sharing your knowledge so much for making effort in writing up this blog it will be very helpful for many …..
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