In the pink? Cricket bosses and players still not seeing benefit of day-night Tests | Simon Burnton

"We limit ourselves by staging cricket's premium format at times when fans often cannot watch."

"Instead of turning on a new demographic to the joys of Test cricket, the idea has been a turn-off: England have only staged one, in 2017; South Africa's only attempt came a few months later; West Indies, Pakistan and New Zealand have held two each and India three. Meanwhile this week's second Test at the Gabba will be Australia's 14th."

"From the first day of the first pink-ball Test, against New Zealand in 2015, viewers have tuned in in large numbers: that game was watched by an average of 1.46 million across the five major cities, 27% up on that year's Perth Test. Their day-night game against South Africa in 2016 again saw a 27% bump. In 2017 42% of the country's metropolitan population watched at least some of the first Ashes day-nighter, and so on to last year's match against India, when every session but one brought in more than a million"

In October 2012 the International Cricket Council approved day-night Test matches to attract new audiences. Adoption has been limited: 24 of 554 Tests overall have been day-night, and outside Australia only 11 of 486. England staged one in 2017; South Africa one; West Indies, Pakistan and New Zealand two each; India three; Australia 14. Cricket Australia measures benefits in TV viewing and revenue, scheduling matches to reach east-coast peak hours. The first pink-ball Test in 2015 averaged 1.46 million viewers across five cities, a 27% increase on Perth; a 2016 game saw another 27% bump; the 2017 Ashes day-nighter reached 42% of metropolitan viewers; a recent match versus India drew over a million viewers in every session but one.

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