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Proteas stars at odds on day-night Tests

De Villiers and Steyn share differing views on pink ball as CA push for a match under lights in Adelaide

UPDATE: South African duo AB de Villiers and Dale Steyn have both voiced their concern about the prospect of playing a day-night Test against Australia this summer, although the star players have differing views when it comes to the merits of playing a warm-up match with a pink ball ahead of a Test match under lights.

The South African Players' Association this week vocalised concerns about the durability and visibility of the pink ball, views echoed by De Villiers overnight, although Steyn has welcomed the innovation and said he would "love" to play a Test under lights at some stage in his career.

Exclusive: Steyn welcomes prospect of day-night Test

The debate comes as Cricket Australia vowed to continue to work with South African officials in an effort to convince the Proteas that the third Test of their upcoming series in Australia should be played under lights.

The success of the inaugural pink-ball Test last summer has convinced CA to play the first Test against Pakistan in December under lights at the Gabba, and they will continue to lobby the Proteas to agree to a day-night match at the Adelaide Oval.

Image Id: ~/media/E53AB7DD65A44033A5899A4968001444 Image Caption: More than 120,000 fans attended the day-night Test last summer // Getty

While De Villiers and Steyn are united in their uncertainty about playing with the pink ball this year, their opinions are diametrically opposed when it comes to the effectiveness of playing a tour match under lights in preparation for a pink ball Test.

De Villiers says a practice match under lights would not sufficiently replicate the intensity of a Test match, while Steyn said just one first-class match could adequately prepare his side for a Test with the pink ball.

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"I don’t think it’s something that you acclimatise to in one match and the intensity of an international cricket match also brings in other factors which are hard to replicate in a warm-up match," De Villiers said in Bangalore.

In an exclusive interview with cricket.com.au in Rajkot, Steyn said: "I think maybe even one game so the boys can get accustomed to it. You can practice as much as you want in the nets but when you get out into the middle and there's pressure and all that kind of stuff you do tend to play differently. One first-class game, maybe two first-class games and I think the boys will be extremely into it.

"I don't want to go through my whole career without playing a day-night game," Steyn added.

"How cool are they? I thought it looked awesome when New Zealand and Australia played one.

"It looked entertaining, there was a big crowd.

"The ball is pink – it's something different. You want to test your skills with that whole thing and it's very exciting."

Steyn later moved to clarify his comments about day-night Tests, saying while he supported the concept in general he had concerns about the proposed Test in Adelaide this year, namely that the Australians have some experience against the pink ball while the Proteas have none.

De Villiers says concerns of several players arose following discussions with some of the Australian players who took part in the first ever pink-ball Test against New Zealand last November.

"At the moment we are not too keen on playing in the proposed day-night Test match due to a few concerns that have come from a number of sources involved in the maiden Test played last year," De Villiers said last night.

"We had a meeting with Steve Smith and some of the Australian players when they toured here earlier this year and the consensus from our talks were that there are just too many unknowns, players from both teams were reluctant to go ahead with it.

"South Africa and Australia have a great cricketing rivalry and this is a series that we value, we could well be playing for an opportunity to regain the No.1 Test ranking so playing a day-night match is a fundamental change to the itinerary.

"The pink ball has had some issues with how it responds to 80 overs of Test cricket and that is one of the key issues that we feel plays a big role in the success of the day-night Test.

"The pitch also had to be ‘doctored’ to minimise the abrasive wear and tear to the pink ball, which seems to happen quicker than the red ball, and this is also an area we feel is a big factor in the run of play."

Image Id: ~/media/51F7CA4C3B224671B8A1A8277462D8E4 Image Caption: De Villiers will be hoping for a repeat of SA's series wins in Australia in 2008-09 and 2012-13 // Getty

CA CEO James Sutherland says he understands the uncertainty of the South African players, but urged all players to look at the bigger picture.

"Understandably, there is some concern from the South African players, but day-night Test cricket is all about the fans and a day-night match in Adelaide will be a bigger Test match crowd than the South African players will have ever experienced,” he said in a statement.

"The success of Adelaide last year demonstrates the huge potential the day-night format has in revitalising Test cricket all over the world, and it’s for that reason that it is our desire to stage another Test under lights at that venue.

"We believe that having the ability to move matches into the evenings provides cricket fans with greater access to the game, both at the ground and at home on TV, and there is no doubt that this will help grow interest in Test cricket."

Given the record-breaking crowd and television viewing numbers from the first day-night Test last summer, it's little surprise CA are pushing for two Tests under lights this season.

Fans are also overwhelmingly in favour of the concept; in a cricket.com.au poll conducted in the aftermath of the inaugural day-night Test, an overwhelming 82 per cent of the more than 237,000 respondents voted in favour of more day-night Test cricket. Ten per cent said they were undecided and only eight per cent were against a pink-ball Test match.

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And despite misgivings about the ball from Australia's and New Zealand's players before and after the match last summer, opposing captains Steve Smith and Brendon McCullum agreed the Test was a landmark moment for the five-day game.

"The whole Test match was a great innovation, it was a great spectacle, and to get 120,000 people through the gates in three days is absolutely amazing," Smith said after the match.

"It was just a game that was dominated by the bowlers. I thought New Zealand`s bowlers bowled just as well as ours."

A major concern of the players last summer was the visibility of the pink ball in the twilight and night sessions, while they also expressed alarm that the Adelaide Oval pitch was more evenly-grassed than normal in order to maintain the condition of the pink Kookaburra over the course of 80 overs.

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Those two factors led to a day-night Test that was dominated by the bowlers; only three batsmen passed 50 in the match as pacemen took 29 of the 37 wickets to fall over three action-packed days.

It was a stark contrast to the five other Tests played during the 2015-16 season, where there were 19 individual centuries scored, including three double hundreds and four scores of between 150 and 200.

WATCH: Extended highlights of the first day-night Test

McCullum was confident the unique conditions of day-night Tests would continue to evolve over time.

"It's a great concept. As pink-ball cricket evolves, which I'm sure it will in the global game, I think we'll see that pitches won't have quite as much grass on it," he said.

"Overall, it's a roaring success – 120,000 people turning up over three days. People are voting with their feet. I think it's here to stay, which is great."

"It definitely brought a different element, even on day one. It certainly asked some different questions.

"I think, tactically, there's a lot to learn for captains as we head into the pink-ball era."

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