CAPE TOWN, South Africa, CMC – Night-time Tests may be just around the corner if a leading English official has his way.
John Stephenson, head of cricket at the Marylebone Cricket Club, said selective instances of matches under lights with the possible use of a pink ball could be as little as a year away.
The former England batsman said there were a number of places around the World that the concept could make a difference to attendances without disrupting the character of the game itself.
“I think some parts of New Zealand at the right time of the year; we were exploring New Zealand vs Zimbabwe in Hamilton at the end of January,” he said.
“That would have been a good one for a day/night Test. You’d have got a lot of the local community out at night and conditions might have been sublime, I’m told – not too much dew, warm, good floodlights.”
He said: “We also know that Abu Dhabi has wonderful conditions for day/night cricket at certain times of the year.
“The West Indies could also be a great place for it, re-invigorating attendances there. India and Pakistan are also set up for it in places, although there’s a dew factor to contemplate.” Stephenson was speaking following a two-day meeting of the MCC World Cricket Committee in the city.
