PCB ask Sri Lanka to consider day-night Test

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Cricket365
August 15, 2013

The Pakistan Cricket Board have floated the idea of playing a day-night Test against Sri Lanka at the end of the year, saying the location of the series, in the UAE, provides the perfect opportunity to try the new format.

The ICC have said that day-night Tests are allowed, though the cricket boards involved in a series have to hash out the details themselves, especially the issue of which colour ball to use, be it white or pink.

The PCB have suggested to SLC that one of the three Tests in December and January, in either Dubai or Abu Dhabi, could be changed to a day night game. The PCB have already tried the concept in domestic matches.

PCB spokesman Nadeem Sarwar told Cricinfo: "We have offered to play a Test match under lights. We are keen to experiment with day-night Test cricket as we believe that this would help in reviving interest in the format.

"The major aspect in our discussion is the correspondence on the colour and brand of the ball. The venues are definitely ideal and there is no dew factor involved in December and January.

"Preliminary enquiries have revealed that there is an interest amongst sponsors and broadcasters in day-night Test cricket as it could add commercial momentum. We also anticipate greater spectator interest compared to an all-day Test match.

"PCB has conducted trials of day-night, domestic first-class matches and, for us, this will be an exciting experiment, subject, of course, to agreement by Sri Lanka Cricket Board."

For their part, the Sri Lankan authorities seem keen on the idea, and are happy to discuss the prospect with the Pakistan counterparts, with SLC president Jayantha Dharmadasa saying they needed to be forward-thinking.

He said: "We shouldn't say no if the only reason is that it doesn't suit us. In the past we've had 50-over cricket come into the game, then Twenty20s. In the future it will be day-night Tests.

"It would be a good thing for us to be part of the first day-night Test. People will be looking at it. I've still got to talk to the cricket committee, the selectors, and the cricketers, so we'll see what comes out of those meetings."