IN PICS: Day 1 of day-night Test leaves much to ponder

Barnaby Read 23:21 13/10/2016
Pakistan put themselves way out in front.

Day-night Test cricket’s second outing and first foray in the Middle East was met with a tepid response by both the action and crowd numbers on day one in Dubai.

A flat wicket and pink ball that refused to deviate from the straight, combined with an impotent West Indies side unable to bowl with the kind of restraint and maiden building required on these slow, flat Dubai tracks saw Pakistan put themselves way out in front.

Openers Sami Aslam (90) and Azhar Ali (146*) were the destroyers in chief with the fourth highest opening stand in Pakistan’s history, putting on 215 before Aslam departed.

By the close, Pakistan had moved to 279-1 and are in prime position to command this Test in the manner they so frequently do in the UAE; by batting their opposition out of the contest first up and looking to take 20 wickets once the pitch has deteriorated and spin takes hold.

That has become standard fare from Misbah-ul-Haq – who won his 14th toss of 22 in the UAE before electing to bat – and his men, as has the kind of crowd witnessed on Thursday.

Seen as the saving grace of Test cricket, this first audition of the day-night variety saw a slightly above average turnout of around 600 fans at the day’s peak but was some way off the swathes of supporters that rushed to Adelaide to see its manifestation.

The bare blue seats of the Dubai stadium highlighted the fact that day-night Tests will not work miracles on getting supporters rushing through the gates in the UAE on a working day.

That turn out should improve for Friday’s second day and the West Indies will need to also if they are to come away from this first Test with anything but defeat.

Dwindling crowds and the decline of West Indies cricket have gone hand-in-hand across the Caribbean, and the global state of fans turning out to watch Test cricket is one the ICC are desperate to address.

In that regard, day-night Tests have been their brightest hope. And fresh from their humbling whitewashes in the T20I and ODI series last month, West Indies will have also hoped it would have brought about a change in their own fortunes.

But neither the pink ball nor excitement of day-night Test cricket provided immediate relief for the ICC or West Indies.

The pink ball was at the centre of the pre-match amble as much as the desires for the format to resuscitate the sport’s longest version.

Concern was raised about the visibility of the ball and the seam in particular but for Pakistan’s batsmen there was no such alarm. In fact, the pink Kookaburra looked more like a beach ball to Pakistan as they set about piling more misery on the tourists.

They instantly seized advantage, Aslan and Azhar making light work of West Indies’ bowlers as their burgeoning opening partnership began to bear fruit.

The pair were installed as openers in the Oval’s final Test of the summer against England and here they comfortably passed the 50-run partnership mark and then the century stand, ending Pakistan’s near year-long wait for a combination of such substance.

Azhar was involved in that last 50-plus opening alliance with Mohammad Hafeez against England at Sharjah in November 2015 but alongside Aslam and against an impotent looking West Indies attack they comfortably surpassed that 101-run partnership.

They rotated the strike with ease, sent bad balls to the boundaries and all without fuss.

In his 50th Test match, Azhar was the first to his century, and the first in a day-night Test match, continuing his majestic run of form in Tests that has seen him score 402 runs at 105.5 in his last five innings, including this ton.

There was genuine excitement surrounding the occasion – being not only the second day-night Test in history but also Pakistan’s 400th match – and Azhar’s effort marked it in some style.

Unfortunately, there was too much familiarity to the piece for everyone involved not flying the flag bearing the green star.

Recommended