New Delhi: Adelaide is currently basking in sunshine before the second Border-Gavaskar Test, a day-night match starts on December 6. But pitch curator Damian Hough says thunderstorms could disrupt day one, with clear weather expected from day two.
On the 22 yards at the Adelaide Oval, six millimetres of grass has been left, which is a standard practice in day-night Tests to preserve the condition of the pink Kookaburra ball. Australia have won all seven of their pink-ball Tests in Adelaide, while India are playing a day-night Test for the first time after March 2022.
“Weather, yes, is a short answer to that (affecting the game). Right now, with over two days out from the first ball, it does look like Friday could be wet with some thunderstorms. We’ve had some unseasonable thunderstorms Thunderstorms to affect day one of pink-ball Test in Adelaide, says pitch curator
over the last few weeks. We’re normally quite dry in our climate, so we’ve had a few storms around.
“It looks like they’re around Friday, so I don’t know whether it’s going to be in the morning or in the afternoon. I’ll sort of look at that once we get the forecast in about three hours’ time, and have a better understanding what that looks like.
“It’s a little bit hit and miss, as in there’s two different models out there right now, one saying it’s going to come early and not be as bad during the game. The other one is it could be more around lunchtime and during the afternoon.
“We’ll wait and see, as it looks like it’s clearing out Saturday morning. On day one, we might lose a few overs, but from day two onwards, looks like the weather’s going to be good and we’ll be able to pick those overs back up hopefully,” said Hough to IANS in a select virtual interaction organised by Cricket Australia on Wednesday.
The history of pink-ball Test cricket shows that batting during twilight poses the toughest challenges for batters. While Hough didn’t have definitive information, he felt the common view of twilight sessions being tough for batters was accurate. IANS
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