Australia Forced To Scrap Day-Night Test After India Rebuff Proposal

The Australian cricket board on Tuesday confirmed that it has scrapped the idea of hosting India for a day-night Test in Adelaide after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) refused to back down from it's earlier stance. In a statement, Cricket Australia (CA) said the match will be held in a day format instead of a day-night format. "We can confirm that we have received advice from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that it is not prepared to participate in a proposed day-night Test in Adelaide this summer," CA chief James Sutherland said in a statement.

"As a result, we can now confirm this Test match will be a day format."

CA had pencilled in the December 6-10 Test in Adelaide as a pink-ball match but India baulked at playing under floodlights.

CA is of the belief that day-night Test cricket is a more television-friendly format and perhaps the only way to save the five-day version of the game following the rise of the quickfire Twenty20 format.

But India, who are the world's top-ranked team, said they didn't want to play their first day-night Test during such a high-profile series.

"Yes, it's pretty clear that we are not playing a day-night Test in Australia, no doubt about it," BCCI administrator Vinod Rai told AFP earlier this month.

The Australians have played four day-night Tests since 2015, three of them in Adelaide, winning all of them.

India have not yet played a pink-ball Test and would be reluctant to give the hosts any advantage as they seek a first Test series win in Australia.

"I think everyone in world cricket knows that, to be frank, I think (India) want to come out here and beat us," Sutherland told Australia's SEN Radio in early May.

Sutherland said Australia would still play a day-night Test against Sri Lanka in Brisbane in January.

"We are committed to hosting at least one day-night Test each home summer as part of our continued focus to grow Test cricket," he said.

(With AFP inputs)