Cricket Australia (CA) has confirmed that a day/night Test would not be on the cards when India travel to Australia for their four-match Test series later this year.
The current ICC playing conditions state that a day/night Test can be hosted only “with the agreement of the visiting board”.
Australia wanted the opening Test of the series in Adelaide, set to begin on December 6, to be a day/night affair, but the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has turned it down, according to a CA spokesperson.
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“We can confirm that we have received advice from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that it is not prepared to participate in a proposed day/night Test in Adelaide this summer,” the spokesperson said. “As a result, we can now confirm this Test match will be a day format.
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India have never played a day/night Test[/caption]
“Whilst we appreciate some Adelaide fans may be disappointed, we know how popular the Adelaide Test is and look forward to hosting India there in December.”
India are one of only two Full Members nations – Bangladesh being the other – to not play a day/night Test yet. Afghanistan and Ireland are yet to play their maiden Test matches.
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Australia, meanwhile, have been part of four day/night matches, with Adelaide hosting pink ball Tests in each of the last three seasons, against New Zealand (November 2015), South Africa (November 2016) and England (December 2017). Australia also played a day/night Test against Pakistan in December 2016 in Brisbane, winning all of them.
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Adelaide has hosted day/night Tests in each of the last three years[/caption]
Despite India’s reluctance to play a pink-ball Test, CA has assured the fans that a day/night Test will still be played in Brisbane when Sri Lanka tour in January 2019.
The statement said: “We are committed to hosting at least one day/night Test each home summer as part of our continued focus to grow Test cricket, and we are excited about the day/night Test against Sri Lanka at the Gabba in January.”
India will tour Australia for a full series, which will consist of four Tests, three T20Is and three ODIs.
