SA great wants Proteas to embrace pink ball

South Africa legend Barry Richards says day-night Tests will help preserve Test cricket

South African great Barry Richards has called on his country to embrace the proposed day-night Test against Australia in Adelaide this summer.

The South Africans are still yet to commit to the match, arguing a lack of experience against the pink ball will count against them.

Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland recently held discussions with his South African counterparts in an effort to persuade them to play the match under lights and Richards is confident the Proteas will eventually agree.

Quick Single: Sutherland optimistic about pink-ball Test

“I think they will in the end,” he told Big Sports Breakfast radio.

“I think there will be a bit of toing and froing, they’re obviously discussing it. I think it’s quite an important aspect of the game.

“I don’t think it’s off the table, it’s certainly under discussion and hopefully they’ll come to the party in the end.”

Richards was part of the MCC Cricket Committee with countryman Shaun Pollock for a number of years, and said he had taken a number of pink balls back to his homeland for authorities to look at.

Quick Single: Smith keen for Proteas D/N Test

He was also part of Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket, which introduced the white ball in the 1970s, and he said current players must keep an open mind on day-night Tests if they wished to keep the traditional format alive.

“We need a Kerry Packer,” Richards said. “Because we said ‘what about this white ball?’ He said ‘You’ll play with it’. So we played with it.

“I can sort of half understand them. But it’s not as if they can’t have a practice game and it’s not as if they haven’t seem them before.
WATCH: Sutherland optimistic for pink ball future

“In the long term for Test cricket, we need to preserve it.

“It is important for the country. If you do well, everyone takes notice.

“We’ve got to preserve it and one of the ways of doing that is getting a lot of people along when they can come.”

Quick Single: Pollock suggests D/N Test in South Africa

Richards said day-night Test cricket could eventually be played in South Africa, but warned the concept may not work in all conditions.

“I think it probably would, but you can’t do it everywhere,” he said.

“There’s a dew factor, if you have a long dusk and the lights are not effective for a long period of time, that changes the balance of the game. So you can’t do it everywhere.

“Adelaide is a perfect venue. And when you really think about, it’s less than a day under lights. They probably play only five or six hours under lights out of 30 so it’s not a huge amount of time.

“But it does provide a lot of publicity and it provides an opportunity for people to go. I think if the dew factor and the lights factor are considered, you’ve probably got something you can sell.”