South Africa’s players should not agree to a day-night Test because Cricket Australia is asking them to. They should do it for the health of Test cricket in their own country
Daniel Brettig20-Apr-2016Ever since South Africa rejoined international cricket in 1992, their Australian counterparts have felt themselves to be in possession of a small but vital advantage.Put simply, when Australian teams are in a difficult position they attack, while South Africa’s combinations are often expected to take the conservative option. This idea has applied not only to Australian Test encounters with South Africa, but also to ICC events where the teams of AB de Villiers and company have repeatedly fallen short.With that in mind, it is not particularly surprising that South Africa’s cricketers have raised their hands in protest at the idea of playing a day-night Test as the potential decider to next summer’s series in Australia. That old obstinacy has been well represented, through the words of the players’ association chief Tony Irish, and de Villiers himself.South Africa, we are told, lack experience playing first-class cricket under lights. They have not tried the pink ball in domestic competitions, nor have the Test players given it a practice run at nocturnal training sessions. In a series where the No. 1 Test ranking may be on the line, South Africa’s players think the stakes are too high for such an experimental concept. A day-night warm-up match is not enough practice.
A willingness to try something new would run contrary to the conservatism South African cricket is known for, and which player would not leap at the chance to overturn that old stereotype?
Partly, this argument has been bolstered by the apparent ambivalence of Australian players when they discussed the concept in South Africa earlier this year during a warm-up series for the World T20. One discussion point is there are “too many unknowns” able to sully the looming contest. The Test teams of Australia and New Zealand, of course, did not consent to last year’s inaugural day-night fixture until Cricket Australia had tipped in $1 million extra cash, paid in a 60/40 split that looked suspiciously like appearance money. Having made that offer once, CA should have expected to be asked for it again.Conservative attitudes among cricketers are common and usually well-founded – another example emerged this month via Alastair Cook’s preference to keep an older and more comfortable version of his batting helmet, reasoning it is safer for him to have a fuller field of vision. Nevertheless, occasions do arise when it would be useful for the players to take the wider view, and day-night Tests are one of those.Some of Irish’s words about “commercial concerns” needing to balance with a “cricket imperative” are well-meaning, but miss the point of day-night Tests. The greatest imperative for all concerned is that Test cricket must find a way to thrive beyond the cosseted traditions of the Ashes. South Africa’s players should know this better than anyone, given the fact they play the vast majority of their home Test matches in front of pitifully small crowds and middling television audiences.As Rod Marsh argued in his Cowdrey Lecture at Lord’s last year, after Australia’s 2014 tour to South Africa: “How can the Test match crowds in South Africa be so poor? They have a magnificent team with arguably the best fast bowler in the world and possibly the best batsman in the world. Yet no one goes to watch them play at home. Come on you guys, get active, there will be a time when your product isn’t that good and you’ll struggle to exist.”Australia’s 1994 Test tour of South Africa took place during an uncertain political climate, but it turned out to be a successful one and the hosts were grateful•Getty ImagesBy consenting to play a day-night Test, South Africa’s players would make a statement of openness that would be felt far beyond the context of a single match in Adelaide. They would open up the possibility of such matches being played in South Africa – concerns about the quality of lights are valid but must also be balanced with the opportunity to grow the game – in front of far larger Test crowds than the nation has ever seen. They should consider that last year’s Adelaide Test drew the biggest attendance ever for a match between Australia and New Zealand, instantly elevating the Test to a pitch of excitement usually glimpsed only at the Boxing Day or New Year’s Tests in Melbourne and Sydney.Equally, a willingness to try something new would run contrary to the conservatism South African cricket is known for, and which player would not leap at the chance to overturn that old stereotype? It might also be useful to think about the prospect of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel using a swinging pink ball under lights and the potential damage they could do to Australia; Adelaide will never be Perth, but the contest between bat and ball is likely to be far more even than the first day of the last match between the two sides at the ground.As they baulk at taking a leap into the future, it might pay South Africa’s players to take a look back into the history of cricket contests between the two countries. In 1994, Australia sent a touring team to South Africa in circumstances that were deemed risky by many. The trip coincided with the final weeks before the nation’s first ever all-race elections, and news stories of violence and potential terror threats abounded. Led by Allan Border on his final tour, the Australians made the journey in a spirit of discovery, without knowing quite what to expect.What followed was a trip memorable for the cricket and the history, helping to set up the rivalry that de Villiers and company are now so anxious about preserving. The hosts were forever grateful to then ACB chairman Alan Crompton and chief executive Graham Halbish that a successful visit was completed ahead of Nelson Mandela’s elevation to power, in a celebratory atmosphere that caused many of the earlier fears to ring hollow. An Australian decision not to tour might have been disastrous for a South African team still making its early steps back into the international fold.Given their recent refusal – on government advice – to send a team to the Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh, it is worth pondering whether CA in its current guise would have taken the risk Crompton and Halbish did. But in the context of 2016 and day-night Tests the roles are reversed, with CA asking its South African counterpart to make a leap of faith. While the players have every right to protect what they consider to be the integrity of their game, they would do well to consider the wider view this time around. Take the positive option, and find out what rewards may lie on the other side of night. Not just in Adelaide, but in South Africa too.