England’s ambitions of leveling the Ashes series in Brisbane hinge on the unpredictable nature of pink-ball cricket, according to fast bowler Stuart Broad. The second Test starts at the Gabba on December 4. England too have their own specific hurdles that they need to overcome, to do battle with their complicated past with day-night fixtures in Australia.
Broad said the challenges that come with using the pink ball, something that has led to a dismal record for the hosts in day-night Tests. The team has not yet tasted success with the pink ball. To date, after three performances on home soil, they are still looking for their first victory. In previous encounters, England faced a 120-run defeat in Adelaide during the 2017 series, followed by heavy losses of 275 and 146 runs in Adelaide and Hobart respectively during their last tour in 2021.
“The pink-ball Test, having played a few ourselves, is a bit of a lottery,” Broad stated, summarizing the uncertainty that surrounds these matches. He went on to explain just how important timing is for bowling with the new ball. He echoed that worry with the particular difficulty of bowling first in these conditions.
“That’s why I don’t like bowling first in pink-ball cricket because you bowl with a brand new ball in daylight and it doesn’t do a lot.” – Stuart Broad
Day-night Tests have a distinct format with first play under natural light. When the match moves to nights under floodlights, it just gets harder. As the sun sets and the light begins to fade, the ball is less productive, usually close to 60 overs old at that stage. This reduces its capacity to swing or seam, putting bowlers at a losing wicket.
Broad emphasized that capturing wickets early is crucial: “If you can get a brand new ball under the floodlights at the Gabba, you should be taking wickets and you can break the game open.” He admitted this is opportunity falling too late in the day.
Australia has been unbeatable in day-night Tests on home soil, winning all 12 of their 13 matches played under the floodlights. Their sole loss on home soil in this format came at the hands of the West Indies, at the Gabba, last year. Given this context, England’s task appears formidable.
Broad is in favor of batting first in order to make the most of new ball, under lights at start of play luxe. “That is why I think it is quite important to bat first because even if you are bowled out by tea when it’s starting to go dark, you have a brand new ball under lights,” he explained.
England await this potentially key fixture full of confidence. For starters, they have to contend with Australia’s woeful pink-ball record, more so the idiosyncrasies of pink-ball cricket itself.
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