I was there too!

To be one among 47,441 cricket fans at the Adelaide Oval was a thrilling experience. Date: Friday 27 November 2015. Occasion: First day of the first ever Day/Night Cricket Test. Contest: Australia vs. New Zealand. Playing hours: 2 p.m.-9 p.m. with two breaks – one at 4 p.m. (20 minutes for tea) and the dinner break at 6:30 p.m. (40 minutes).

Players wore white as normally seen in Test matches. The special feature was the colour of the ball. A pink ball was being tried out for the first time.

It was a historic moment in the 138 years of Test history. The first officially recognised Test match was played on 17 March 1877 between Australia and England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground -MCG.

As we walked in to the grounds, a colourful hoarding greeted us at the main entrance. ‘Australia v New Zealand – History making Day Night Test Match’ – 27 November-1 December 2015’, it said. A pink colour cricket ball was in the bottom right hand corner. The green backdrop for the hoarding was a cricket ground.

It was a warm, sunny day. Crowds started coming in very early treating it more as a picnic. There was a festive mood all round. Those who wanted to could get the Australian Cricket colours painted on the cheeks – free of charge. Many did. 

We walked in to the E Block where our seats were. (The tickets were bought online several weeks earlier.) 

Apart from being present when the first ball was being bowled in the first Day/Night Test, it was also the last time we saw ICC referee Roshan Mahanama walking on to the middle to watch the two captains – Steve Smith and Brendon McCallum – toss at the landmark Test. 

The players paid tribute to Phil Hughes commemorating the young cricketer’s tragic death following a ball hitting his head while batting.

We watched the first delivery in day-night Test cricket being bowled by Australian opening bowler Mitchell Starc to New Zealander Martin Guptil. The opening run was scored four minutes later by Guptill.

We saw Guptill becoming the first victim of the pink ball 15 minutes into the match when Josh Hazlewood clean bowled him. 

Kane Williamson scored the first boundary. 

The large screens carried messages regularly. Among them were ‘warnings’ to the spectators, one of which was a reminder that anyone coming on to the playing area was liable to a fine up to A$ 5,000. Quite a stiff one!

With light beer being available at the bar, it was a treat to watch it being consumed at a pace we had never seen before. 

It was reported that the day one Adelaide crowd eclipsed the total attendance for the five days of the second Test at the WACA Ground (Perth), and was just short of the 53,572 fans that watched the entire first Gabba Test (Sydney) in person. Adelaide Test was the last of the three in the series.

Apart from the large crowds at the ground close to two million people watched the opening day on TV. Channel Nine reported the national audience for the first day peaked at 1.84 million viewers, with an average audience of 1.46 million across the five major cities and regional areas in the final session which ran from 7 p.m.-9:30 p.m.

Many were disappointed that the Test was over in three days. It also turned out to be a bowlers’ game. Media said that a century at the Adelaide ground was a regular feature. But it didn’t happen this time.

The general feeling is that Day/Night Tests would be the answer to get crowds to come and watch Test cricket.