With Test cricket steadily losing out to more instant versions of the game, even the MCC, conservative guardian of cricket tradition, has come round to the view that day/night Tests might be the answer.
The MCC believes that this may be the only way to salvage the longer version of the sport and will help Tests in countries where attendance are low.
According to a cricket website, the MCC, which concluded a two-day meeting at Lord's on Friday, agreed that floodlit Tests were the immediate plan to revive the game's traditional format. The MCC cited research that said only 11% of cricket watched in India was Test matches.
"We should not delay in presenting day-night Test cricket as an option for those Test-playing countries that are struggling to attract an audience," John Stephenson, the MCC assistant secretary was quoted by a cricket website as saying. "We say this form of the game is viable now. We proved it in Abu Dhabi with the four-day game under lights."
The MCC admitted that T20 was important for commercial reason, but Test cricket should be made more attractive with greater rewards for the cricketers so that they can stay away from T20 freelancing.
The website also recalled that the ICC was batting for more research before the day-night Tests were introduced. David Morgan, who finished his term as ICC president last month, had himself hinted that the change could soon happen.
The former Australian captain, Steve Waugh, who was one of the committee members, also advocated the pink-ball revolution. "I think it would be great," he said. "There's always resistance to change because it takes people out of their comfort zone, but I think back to World Series Cricket back when I was a kid. It ignited the spark among the spectators, and as players it's exciting. Like Twenty20 cricket, it would be something new and challenging, and as a player I'd really embrace that," Waugh was quoted as saying.
The MCC committee also made it clear that it was vital that Test match pitches offered a fair balance between bat and ball to maintain interest levels. They referred to the pitches in Bangladesh as a poor example for the game, while recently in St Kitts West Indies and South Africa played a Test that was an inevitable draw from very early.
