I say play them in most Tests, apart from your traditionals - Boxing Day, New Year's Test etc.
It might be a matter of opinion but Test cricket's viability relies on getting away from the sort of 'don't change how it's always been' mentality. People are less and less inclined to watch Test cricket during the day, at the ground and certainly on TV (where the money is made through broadcast dollars). I know I'm that way - I drift in and out during the day, I'll look on cricinfo regularly and get to a device when I can, but I have kids/a job/I'm on holiday now etc. But day/night Tests, I'm all in for the evening. I love the Australia D/N Test time slot, and I enjoy ours too.
I agree. ODIs went that way, and no one had a problem with it. In fact it added to the product. The ball works, by and large, which was always the biggest potential issue to D/N Tests.
I suppose it's a country-by-country consideration as to whether D/N Tests should be the norm. For example, in NZ, our Test cricket is very sparse in viewership both at the ground and on TV as a daytime product. We don't have a massive viewing public compared to most other countries in the world. D/N Tests, to me, are our best option unless we're talking Boxing Day/NYs Tests.
That might be different in somewhere like Australia where Melbourne/greater VIC has 4-5 million people, their country-wide viewership is much higher, or in India (not sure here) where again they have a much bigger pool of people to watch and attend, and certainly a more passionate viewership who will look to watch at all costs. England are also different in terms of their cricket culture of attending Test matches in numbers.
Hi Steve
you make some excellent points, and I totally understand how watching at night is better when you have a whole life to juggle around.
the questions we probably have to ask regarding these pink ball night tests are what are the consequences? and are they worth it?
from purely a cricket perspective, is the quality of cricket achieved worth the change overall?
lets look at the last 10 tests:
5 of them have been won by an innings, 2 of them by 300 runs, 1 by 10 wickets, 1 by 8 wickets and 1 by 4 wickets.
that's some serious blowouts going on there, only the match won by 4 wickets resembling anything near to exciting.
it would be great if a ball suited the conditions for everyone, but that's not even close at the moment.
wouldn't we rather be watching 4-5 days of cricket as opposed to 2.5-3.5 days?
remember if it's only 2.5 then there's no night session to watch anyway!
as long as teams get bowled out for 36, nobody's going to get to watch much cricket at all.