LAHORE, Pakistan (CMC) — Pakistan’s cricket authorities want West Indies to play a day/night Test during their tour in October, as they prepare for their historic pink-ball Test against Australia in December.
West Indies are set to play two Tests, five One Day Internationals and two Twenty20 Internationals, during the series set for the United Arab Emirates, and media reports here say the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has sent a proposal to the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) to play one of the Tests under lights.
Former Test Captain Misbah-ul-Haq, an advisor to the PCB’s cricket committee, said it was important the national team had practice with the pink ball before taking on Australia.
“If you don’t have match practice it will become difficult to play at Test level. It was one of the things discussed in the cricket committee’s previous meeting,” said Misbah.
“The bowlers are at an advantage in the evening session and it becomes very difficult for batsmen under lights. That is one reason the cricketers from other countries are also reluctant to play Tests under lights.”
He added: “One more reason is the lack of match practice with the pink ball. The players have hardly played any cricket under these conditions at the domestic levels. They need more match practice before playing it at international level.”
Even if the proposal is rejected by the WICB, the PCB plans to stage matches under lights during the first-class competition in order to prepare players.
International games have not been played in Pakistan in over seven years because the volatile security situation here.
Earlier this month, the WICB rejected a proposal from the PCB to play limited-overs matches during the upcoming series on Pakistan soil.
