Reliving all three day-night Tests played in Australia

When day-night Tests were first introduced in 2015, people had their views for and against it. There were lots of questions concerning how the pink ball would behave in different conditions, whether it would last 80 overs et al. It was a step into the unknown.

Its main objective though was to revive Test cricket and bring fans to the stadium. Hence, it was first utilised in the Sheffield Shield before finally be tested in a Test match at Adelaide in November 2015.

It’s been a little more than two years since that first D/N Test between Australia and New Zealand was played in Adelaide and six D/N Tests have been played overall. Various boards around the world are accepting the innovation and are ready to experiment with it.

As Adelaide gets ready to host the 4th Day-Night Test in Australia (its 3rd and the first ever Ashes Day-Night Test), let’s have a look at the previous pink-ball Tests played in Australia.

#1 Australia vs New Zealand, Adelaide – November 2015

History was made at the Adelaide Oval in November 2015 when a new chapter was added to the history of the game. The Trans-Tasmanian rivals faced off in the first-ever Day-Night Test.

Trailing 1-0 in the three-match series, New Zealand opted to bat first in front of a jam-packed Adelaide Oval. The pitch had a decent covering of grass and Hazlewood took full advantage as he struck in the 4th over. But the conditions eased out as the afternoon progressed and New Zealand found themselves in a decent position at 80/2 after the first session. However, as the floodlights came on, the ball began to swing and New Zealand folded for 202.

Australia, in reply, reached 54/2 at the end of the first day’s play. But, New Zealand came roaring back on the second afternoon, reducing Australia to 116/8. However, a controversial DRS decision went against New Zealand (the Lyon incident where Hotspot clearly showed a mark on the bat) and they lost momentum allowing the hosts to amass 224.

In the second innings, New Zealand were bowled out for 208 as Hazlewood took 6/70 in the absence of Starc (who had fractured his right foot on day one). Chasing 187, Australia were in a tricky position at 66/3, but a gritty 49 from Shaun Marsh helped the hosts win a low-scoring thriller by three wickets.

Thus, the first ever D/N Test was a gripping one. Most of the questions surrounding the pink ball were answered and it suggested that pink ball Tests were here to stay.

Brief Scores: New Zealand 202 (Latham 50, Starc 3-24, Hazlewood 3-66) and 208 (Santner 45, Hazlewood 6-70, M Marsh 3-59) lost to Australia 224 (Nevill 66, Smith 53, Bracewell 3-18, Boult 2/41) and 187/7 (S Marsh 49, Boult 5-60).

#2 Australia vs South Africa, Adelaide – November 2016

Khawaja scored a superb 145 and was declared the Player of the Match.

After the successful inaugural Day-Night Test, Australia played South Africa in their 2nd pink ball Test. The 3rd Test of the series, which was a dead rubber (the Proteas were leading 2-0) got some spice to it as it was played under lights.

Ahead of the Test, Australia changed the structure of their team, giving three players their debuts.

After opting to bat first, South Africa could only manage 259 on the back of a brilliant 118 from skipper Faf du Plessis. In order to have a crack at the Aussies under lights, the Proteas declared with 14 overs remaining on day one. However, Australia showed better application and took a crucial 124-run lead. They scored 383 with Khawaja striking a majestic 145.

South Africa’s second innings followed the same pattern as their first innings as only one batsman (Stephen Cook - 104) could rack up a significant score. Chasing 127, Australia completed the chase with ease, romping home by seven wickets to win their second consecutive D/N Test.

Brief Scores: South Africa 259/9 dec (du Plessis 118*, Hazlewood 4/68, Bird 2/57) and 250 (Cook 104, Starc 4-80, Lyon 3-60) lost to Australia 383 (Khawaja 145, Smith 59, Rabada 3/84, Abbott 3/49) and 127/3 (Warner 47, Smith 40, Abbott 1/26).

#3 Australia vs Pakistan, Brisbane – December 2016

Australia survived a scare in the first Test against Pakistan

In 2016, Pakistan toured Australia after six long years in what was just their second visit to the country since 2005. And a Day-Night Test greeted them first up at the Gabba (Brisbane). With a lively pitch and the pink ball, the Test match was poised to be a cracker as both sides were well-stocked with good fast bowlers.

Australia batted first and racked up 288 runs on the first day with skipper Steve Smith leading from the front. But, Pakistan fought back well on the second day as they restricted the hosts to 429, with Smith (130) and Handscomb (105) scoring beautiful tons. In reply, Pakistan were bowled out cheaply (for 142) as all the Aussie quicks (Starc, Hazlewood and Bird) impressed with three wickets apiece.

With 287 runs in the clear, Australia decided against enforcing the follow on and batted again. They piled on the misery, scoring in excess of five runs per over with Khawaja (74) and Smith (63) notching up fifties.

With more than 200 overs remaining in the game and a target of 490 in front of them, Pakistan seemed dead and buried. However, a strong start gave them some hope. Younus Khan (65) and Azhar Ali (71) scored fifties but couldn’t capitalize on their starts. Their dismissals triggered a mini-collapse as Pakistan were reduced to 220/6. The game looked done and dusted.

But, a brilliant knock from Asad Shafiq (137) and useful contributions from the lower-order ensured the game went on for a while longer. Shafiq batted beautifully with the tail to take Pakistan close. However, he got out when the visitors needed 41 more to dash the hopes of the visitors. Pakistan eventually lost the Test match by 39 runs and Australia took a 1-0 lead and continued their 100% record in Day-Night Tests.

Brief Scores: Australia 429 (Smith 130, Handscomb 105, Wahab 4-89, Amir 4-97) and 5 for 202 dec (Khawaja 74, Smith 63, Rahat Ali 2/40) beat Pakistan 142 (Sarfraz 59*, Hazlewood 3/22, Bird 3/23) and 450 (Shafiq 137, Azhar 71, Starc 4-119, Bird 3/110).