Aussie coach and former quick both support the need to attract spectators amid reported shake-up to Test calendar
Harris, Lehmann welcome pink ball for Gabba Test
Former Australia Test bowler Ryan Harris admits the pragmatic need to play Test matches at a time when spectators can attend has outweighed his concerns about the pitfalls of staging a day-night Test at the Gabba which appears set to host its first pink-ball fixture next summer.
And Australia coach Darren Lehmann has also welcomed the possibility of a day-night Test in Brisbane, pointing out that ensuring strong crowd numbers was a priority for the Test game and foreshadowing that a pink ball Test in Brisbane would be an “overwhelming success”.
Both former Test players were mindful of Australia’s imposing recent record at the Gabba – they have not been beaten in a Test match there since 1988.
But they agreed the enduring health of the game’s elite format was increasingly dependent on being able to attract significant crowds, something the Gabba has struggled to achieve in recent years.
Quick Single: Brisbane set to host pink-ball Test
A report in Fairfax Media today claimed the upcoming Test summer will begin in Perth with Australia playing South Africa followed by matches in Hobart and Adelaide, with Pakistan then arriving for a three-Test series in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.
It also claimed that Cricket Australia is likely to announce two day-night Test matches in the as-yet-unconfirmed 2016-17 schedule – one at Adelaide Oval featuring South Africa and the other in Brisbane against Pakistan.
When it was reported last December that CA was in discussions with their administrative counterparts in South Africa and Pakistan about playing under day-night conditions in the coming summer, Harris was firmly of the view that the pink ball would be unplayable under lights at the Gabba.
"It would be a big mistake,” the Brisbane-based former quick said at the time, noting that the Test teams of Australia, South Africa and Pakistan all feature imposing seam bowling attacks.
“It could potentially be over in two, two-and-a-half or three days.
“If it's one of those hot Brisbane days, you'd certainly want to bowl when the sun goes down. It'd be zipping around everywhere.”
But the 36-year-old conceded today that the success of the inaugural day-night Test match between Australia and New Zealand at the Adelaide Oval last year had impressed upon him the need to play Test cricket at a time that was more accessible to the paying public.
“I admit I did say that (that a day-night Test in Brisbane would be a mistake) but I attended the (day-night) Test in Adelaide and the atmosphere there was unbelievable,” Harris told Melbourne radio station SEN today.
“It was (a rare) time in Test history that the match went three days and there wasn’t any talk about the Test finishing early, it was all about the hype of the pink ball and the how good it was in Adelaide.
“So I can see why they (Cricket Australia) are doing it, the crowds in Brisbane haven’t been great in the last couple of years and the success of the day-night Test in Adelaide was huge.
“But it’s dicing with history.
“It’s 28 years since we (were last) beaten at the Gabba in the first Test of the summer so it’s a big change.
“It’s going to be a challenge, especially on a hot, sticky night with a pink ball at the Gabba.
“It will be hard work, and it would be nice to be a bowler out there but for a change and to keep Test cricket in Brisbane, if they have to do it then it’s got to be done.”
Since becoming a regular Test venue in the 1970s, the Gabba has more often than not hosted the opening match of the international summer although Perth has been used as an alternative venue for the first Test a number of times.
Most notably between 1981 and 1985 when the WACA was the scene of the summer’s first Test against Pakistan (twice), England and the West Indies respectively.
Perth was also preferred for summer’s first Test when New Zealand toured in 1989-90 and again in 1993-94, and for Zimbabwe’s sole Test series (to date) in Australia 13 years ago.
The Gabba (12,139) and the WACA (11,643) have recorded the lowest average daily Test attendances over the past 25 years, partly due to the fact matches at the venues are often scheduled early in the season before schools, universities and workplaces have shut down for summer holidays.
However, the time difference between Perth and the eastern states means the WACA Test historically draws huge television audiences which, in turn, reduces the likelihood it will be considered for a day-night Test match in the immediate future.
And Cricket Australia has indicated that its marquee Boxing Day (at the MCG) and New Year (SCG) Test matches will remain as daytime fixtures, which means Hobart remains the other Test venue that might be considered for a day-night match to try and maximise attendances.
Bupa Support Team Head Coach Lehmann, who previously coached the myFootDr Queensland Bulls and lives in Brisbane, said the possibility of the 2016-17 Test summer starting in Perth and including two day-night matches would place a “different slant” on the coaching staff’s schedule and preparation.
“(But) from a fan’s point of view, getting people through the gates is what the game is about so we have to make sure we’re doing the right thing by fans,” Lehmann told News Corp Australia today.
“The people of Queensland will love a day-night Test.
“It was a great success in Adelaide last summer so I can’t see why it can’t be equally successful at the Gabba.
“If it ends up being a day-night Test at a different time of the year, it can only be good for the game.”
Cricket Australia is yet to finalise the international schedule for the 2016-17 season, and a CA spokesman today declined to comment on the report about the possible changes to the schedule.
“Piecing the summer schedule together is a complex task, that involves many working drafts, and is still very much a work in progress, including discussions with visiting cricket boards," the spokesman said.
“We won't be drawn on speculation at this point in time.”