New Zealand’s cricketers are drawing inspiration from images of Richie McCaw leading the All Blacks to Rugby World Cup glory as they head into their first home day-night Test against England tomorrow.
Despite some injury concerns, New Zealand short-ball specialist Neil Wagner was focused on performing at the Eden Park fortress where the All Blacks are unbeaten in 40 rugby Tests dating back to 1994.
England quick bowler Stuart Broad, meanwhile, believed the first day-night cricket Test on New Zealand soil could be decided in “one mad hour” — less time than it takes for a rugby match.
England have selection issues as they ponder the workload Ben Stokes can handle with a troublesome back, while New Zealand are sweating on injured senior batsman Ross Taylor and have former Test opener Martin Guptill on stand-by as a middle order option.
The history of day-night Tests, using a pink ball, favours the home side who have won seven of the eight matches played so far. Further troubling England is their recent Test form, having lost the Ashes 4-0 to Australia in December and January.
Eden Park’s short boundaries should favour batsmen, but that doesn’t worry Wagner who had match figures of eight for 126 when New Zealand beat India at the ground in 2014 and took three wickets in a tense drawn Test against England the previous year.
“I love playing at Eden Park,” he said yesterday. “A lot of guys find it funny, being a rugby field and with quite short dimensions.
“But just the history of it, knowing Richie McCaw and those guys ran out there and won a (rugby) World Cup. It’s a pretty special place and when you walk out there you get goosebumps.”
Wagner sees no problems with the pink ball, saying the same rules apply as when using a white or red ball. “You’ve got to make sure you put it in the right areas,” he said.
But Broad, needing one more wicket to join teammate James Anderson as the only England players with 400 Test dismissals, believes the pink ball has a life of its own in New Zealand.
After 75 overs during an acclimatisation hit out in Hamilton last weekend the pink ball “still had the writing on, which is unheard of,” Broad said.
“It consistently seems to do more and I can’t put my finger on it at all... I think it definitely does more in that twilight period over this part of the world than England.
“The (Eden Park) drop-in pitch generally has been really good but with these pink-ball games you only need a one mad hour and you can break the Test match open.”
Five things to know about day-night Tests
Auckland: The first Test between New Zealand and England, starting at Eden Park in Auckland on Thursday, is the maiden day-night Test in New Zealand and only the ninth worldwide.
AFP Sport looks at five things we have learned in the brief history of Test cricket under lights:
Home advantage — Sri Lanka are the only team to win a day-night Test away when they beat Pakistan by 68 runs in Dubai last year. The other seven have all been home-ground victories. Sri Lanka scored 482 and 96 against Pakistan who replied with 262 and 248.
Baggy Greens in the pink — Australia have played the most pink-ball Tests and are also the most successful side under day-night conditions with a 4-0 record. England and South Africa have both recorded a win and a loss, while the only other successful teams are Sri Lanka (1-0) and Pakistan (1-2).
Making light of dusk — Pakistan opener Azhar Ali showed changing light conditions need not be a problem when he compiled an unbeaten 302 against the West Indies in Dubai in October 2016. He batted for nearly 11 hours for what remains the highest score in a day-night Test. But he went for two in the second innings and five in the first innings of his next Test under lights against Australia two months later.
Pakistan pile on the runs — The highest score in a pink-ball Test is Pakistan’s 579 for three declared in 155.3 overs when Azhar performed his heroics against the West Indies. Pakistan only managed 123 in the second innings — when Devendra Bishoo took eight for 49 — but held on to win by 56 runs.
Kiwis’ call — The first pink-ball Test was played between New Zealand and Australia at Adelaide Oval in November 2015. New Zealand won the toss, elected to bat and ended up losing by three wickets.
England are pondering the work load for Ben Stokes.
