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NZC excited to be involved in day-night Test against India

by Manuj Sharma Friday 22 April 2016

NZC excited to be involved in the day-night Test against India

New Zealand were earlier part of the first ever day-night Test against Australia in Adelaide in November 2015.

©REUTERS / Action Images

Lindsay Crocker, the head of cricket operations at New Zealand Cricket (NZC), has stated that the board is very excited to be a part of the day-night Test against India.

On Thursday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced that India will host a day-night Test against New Zealand during their tour in October.

Crocker said that the first he heard the news about the day-night Test was after the BCCI made the announcement and further added that India are committed to the idea.

However, Crocker also outlined that there are many factors to consider before the day-night Test is finalised but stated that NZC is quite excited about the development.

“The first I heard of it was the news that broke overnight, but (NZC chief executive) David (White) maybe a little closer to it because he is in Dubai at the (ICC) chief executive’s conference,” Crocker told Stuff.co.nz on Friday.

“Alphabetically, India traditionally sit next to New Zealand at these conferences so David would have no doubt talked to his Indian equivalent about the concept, but it would have been relatively fresh news to him as well because it certainly wasn’t a discussion we were having when David left a couple of days ago.

“India are quite definitive, which is quite exciting because they seem quite committed to the idea.

“We hadn’t considered that would be an option, so there is a bit of water to go under the bridge from our side.

“It is certainly very exciting for us to potentially be involved in the first Asian day-night (Test).”

The venue for the day-night Test between India and New Zealand has not yet been finalised as the BCCI will wait for the completion of the Duleep Trophy to take a decision.

The Duleep Trophy, a regional domestic tournament in India, will be played in the day-night format in the upcoming season and will serve as practice for the Indian players prior to the day-night Test.