Two day-night Ashes Tests on the cards

Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland says there could be as many as two day-night Ashes Tests next summer, saying it would be a “natural progression” for the format.

Both Australian captain Steve Smith and his England counterpart Alastair Cook have called for the 2017-18 Ashes to remain exclusively a red-ball series, believing the battle for the urn would not need any extra hype to boost interest.

Sutherland said while he respected the positions of both skippers, the popularity of last year’s inaugural pink-ball contest in Adelaide was a sign day-night Ashes Tests could attract even bigger attendances and television audiences.

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"We’ve played one day-night Test match and this summer we have two in the schedule, so I think there’s a natural progression for us to get to a point where Ashes Test matches are played as day-night games,” Sutherland said on Thursday.

"The Ashes series is still a long way off and we want get through this summer first, but we will play somewhere between zero and two day-night Tests during the Ashes in 18 months’ time.

"I respect the views of Steven and Alastair … the Ashes is a great contest and will no doubt attract a huge audience both at the grounds and on television, but the facts of the matter are by playing day-night Tests, we’re going to get even bigger audiences at the game and on television.”

Sutherland said pink-ball Ashes contests would also increase audiences in the United Kingdom.

"The time (of day-night Tests) shifts games into a more appealing time of day in the UK.

"We all need to stay very open minded to this (and) continue to progress and build everyone’s confidence.

"But certainly if the experience of Adelaide is anything to go by, with 124,000 people attending over three days last summer, fans are voting with their feet on that front."

However, Sutherland said there would not be any change to the format of Test matches in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.

"There’s no doubt from our point of view Sydney and Melbourne are landmarks in the calendar and they work very well as day games at that time of year when everyone is on holiday.

"Perth is already time-shifted into the eastern states with the three-hour time difference.

"It’s difficult to say what the right balance (between red and pink ball) is, but what will happen in future is the fans will ultimately decide."

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On Wednesday, Smith said while the prospect of playing South Africa and Pakistan under lights this summer was "incredibly exciting", he was not as certain an Ashes series should join the day-night revolution.

"The crowds and the viewers for the regular Ashes Test matches are pretty good," Smith said in Guyana today.

There's a bit to be talked about there, but it's still a little while away. We'll wait and see what happens with that one.

"My personal preference probably would be, yeah (to keep the Ashes to day-only Tests)."

Cook echoed his sentiments ahead of the third Test against Sri Lanka.

"A lot of the games have really good attendances, so I don't think that's a series where you need to do it at this precise moment in time." Cook said at Lord's on Wednesday.

"I don't mean any disrespect to the guys who make it ... but it doesn't seem to behave the same way as the red ball does now.

"The quality of the ball is vital for day-night Test cricket."

Sutherland said Cricket Australia would continue to work closely with Kookaburra on the pink ball, which will feature a completely black seam this summer, in the lead-up to the 2016-17 season. 

"We’ll be doing testing mostly at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane over the course of winter and we’re really pleased with the progression there.

"I’ve met with Brad Elliot, the CEO of Kookaburra, in the last couple of weeks and he’s really confident they’ve significantly advanced their development of the ball."