Edgbaston lights up for cricket’s latest experiment

While the verdict may not be in on floodlit Test Match cricket just yet, there is little doubt about the ability of Edgbaston Stadium to put on a great show.

The ground is one of the great innovators of world cricket so when the prospect of staging England’s first day/night five-day game was suggested, the Birmingham venue wasn’t backwards in coming forwards.

The reward for its boldness was there for all to see yesterday.

Almost 22,000 spectators witnessed history being made on Thursday and today (Friday) is already a sell-out, with Saturday likely to follow suit.

Encouragingly for not just Edgbaston but the wider cricket establishment in general, around half of the 70,000 tickets sold in advance of the game with the West Indies are said to have been purchased by people who have never been to a Test Match before.

In times when the relevance of the purist form of the game is being brought into question – largely because of the popularity of the short-form T20 competitions – this will be very welcome.

While the popularity of floodlit cricket around the globe has been evident for some time, England has been late to the party.
But with good reason – it doesn’t get dark enough.

Edgbaston under lights

To get the full benefit of a game under lights, play would have to start around 8pm and continue until the small hours; a scenario that it completely unrealistic and a lame duck commercially.

So, the authorities have compromised. Play will start at 2pm and continue, as it did on Thursday, until 9.30pm.

Such is the glorious unpredictability of an English summer that the mid-August day chosen to debut the new format was one of the best of the month so far, meaning the impact of playing under lights was lessened.

England opening batsman and former captain, Alastair Cook performed the unusual feat of batting through an entire day but he said afterwards that only the final hour was affected by the floodlights.

So aside from the introduction of a pink ball – which proved very useful in the gathering gloom – there was very little to distinguish the day from the usual format of the game.

This is something the administrators will have to address when the post mortem into the game is carried out at the end of the summer.

In the meantime, the game has added significance for Edgbaston because aside from being the inaugural day/night Test Match in England, it is also the 50th Test Match played at the historic venue.

Warwickshire was therefore not going to let the day pass unrecognised.

One of the highlights was a lap of honour around the playing area at ‘lunchtime’ (4pm) by cricketers to have played in Tests at the ground during the last 50 years.

Many of these were Warwickshire stalwarts such as MJK Smith, Dennis Amiss, David Brown, Bob Willis and latterly, Ashley Giles, Ian Bell, Tim Ambrose, Jonathan Trott and bringing things right up to date, Chris Woakes.

Ian Botham evoked the spirit of the 1981 Ashes series, supported by his then captain Mike Brearley and wicketkeeper Bob Taylor.

That game was probably the most famous to have been played at the ground until 2005 when, in another famous Ashes encounter, England eventually overcame the old enemy by the narrowest of margins – two runs. The captain of that side, Michael Vaughan was also one of those to take part.

TV commentators David Gower (who scored two double centuries at the ground), Geoffrey Boycott and Nasser Hussain, were also amongst those invited to wave to the crowd.

The crowd itself reacted well to the whole day, with the Hollies Stand gradually becoming more vocal during the course of the day as the volume increased commensurate to the amount of alcohol consumed.

Many in the stand had entered into the spirit of the occasion and donned fancy dress to help get in the party mood – although that may have had something to do with the opportunity for a few pre-match pints prior to the first over being bowled, an opportunity not usually available to the casual cricket fan.

The passion shown by the costumed enthusiasts meant that on various occasions during the day the remainder of the spectators were treated to the sight of cops chasing robbers (and later vice versa), a conga lead by Mr Blobby and featuring a cast including the Teletubbies and Super Mario, all cheered on by The Mask, a chorus of chants by some Peaky Blinders and a guest appearance from the Jamaican bobsleigh team – or at least those dressed like the cast of Cool Running.

Great fun, and if this is anything to go by, then I for one will be back – floodlights or not.