Australian commercial broadcaster Ten has hailed the successful introduction of day-night Test cricket, but has maintained that the country’s showpiece Melbourne and Sydney Test matches should retain their traditional daytime scheduling.
Cricket’s inaugural day-night Test between Australia and New Zealand concluded in Adelaide yesterday (Sunday), with the home side securing a thrilling three-wicket win on day three of the encounter.
Ten’s rival broadcaster Nine has enjoyed strong ratings for its coverage of the landmark Test. The first two days of the inaugural day-night Test delivered peak metropolitan television ratings of close to 2m for Nine, while the final day peaked at 3.19m viewers. Indeed, the national average audience of 2.313m was only fractionally off the national average for the Cricket World Cup final between the two countries on March 21.
Despite the initiative aiding a rival, Ten’s head of domestic Twenty20 competition the Big Bash League, Dave Barham, hailed all on-field and off-field aspects of the match as “fantastic”. However, he told The Age newspaper that Melbourne’s Boxing Day Test and Sydney’s New Year’s Test should be ringfenced for daytime coverage, amid calls for Cricket Australia to explore further day-night opportunities.
Barham said: “I think there are some things you wouldn't change. Boxing Day is one of them. I just think that's too far – and I think Sydney is the same. Sydney is a great occasion, really well attended and really well respected for what it is.”
CA has a strict policy of ensuring international matches and BBL matches, which Ten holds the rights to, are never scheduled head to head. Barham doubts CA would genuinely consider scheduling day-night Tests at the same time as evening BBL matches, because of the potential negative repercussions.
“If they run Tests and BBL against each other and one audience is lower (than when run on their own) then so are their rights fees (next time they are negotiated),” he said. “They're different products for different audiences, and both achieving different objectives. You're only going to harm one or the other's audience, so I don't think they're ever going to do that.”
The day-night concept has been designed to drive greater interest in the traditional format of the sport and the maiden venture has also been praised by International Cricket Council chief executive David Richardson as a “great advert” for Test cricket.
Richardson said in a statement: “Although day/night Tests will not be feasible at every venue, it certainly provides a new dimension for players, spectators, broadcasters and fans alike and it is here to stay. We need to make sure we take all the learnings we can from this first match, identify what has worked well and what needs improving, and make sure that future day/night Tests are as good, if not better.
“I have every confidence that day/night Tests will continue to be embraced by more boards in the near future to, in time, become a regular feature of Test match scheduling.”