The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has offered Sri Lanka Cricket a chance to play a day-night Test on their tour to the United Arab Emirates in winter. Two of three Tests on the tour are scheduled in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and these could be potential venues to host the day-night Test. The ICC last year approved the idea of day-night Test matches but left it to member boards to decide on the hours of play and the colour of the ball to be used. No board so far has considered playing day-night Tests, but the PCB has shown interest in trying out the format. The board has organised day-night first-class matches and a few MCC fixtures in Abu Dhabi have also been played under lights. "We have offered to play a Test match under lights," Nadeem Sarwar, the PCB spokesman, told ESPNcricinfo. "We are keen to experiment with day-night Test cricket as we believe that this would help in reviving interest in the format. The major aspect in our discussion is the correspondence on the colour and brand of the ball. The venues are definitely ideal and there is no dew factor involved in December and January." Sarwar also added that a day-night Test could attract spectators and broadcasters. "Preliminary enquiries have revealed that there is an interest amongst sponsors and broadcasters in day-night Test cricket as it could add commercial momentum," Sarwar added. "We also anticipate greater spectator interest compared to an all-day Test match. PCB has conducted trials of day-night, domestic first-class matches and, for us, this will be an exciting experiment, subject, of course, to agreement by Sri Lanka Cricket Board." Pakistan will host Sri Lanka in the UAE between December 2013 and January 2014 for a bilateral series that includes three Tests, five ODIs and two Twenty20s. The series, the second bilateral contest between Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the UAE, will be played in Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi. The first Test has been scheduled for December 31 in Dubai, while Abu Dhabi and Sharjah will host the second and third Tests, from January 8 and January 16.
Posted on: Wed, 14 Aug 2013 20:58:53 +0000
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