Jamaica's Sabina Park set to host first Day-Night Test
What's the story
Cricket West Indies is planning to host its first-ever Day-Night Test at Jamaica's Sabina Park, contingent on floodlight upgrades. The match will be played in July during Australia's tour to the Caribbean. As per ESPNcricinfo, the third Test, after two red-ball games in Barbados and Grenada, is tentatively a pink-ball affair with a local start time of 1:30pm. However, it depends on floodlight upgrades at Sabina Park to meet international standards.
Support
Australia endorses day-night Test in Jamaica
Cricket Australia has thrown its weight behind the proposed Day-Night Test match, and officials from the organization will visit Jamaica this month for a pre-tour inspection. Chris Dehring, a Cricket West Indies representative, confirmed that "the Australians have agreed for it to be a day-night Test match," at a recent press conference. However, he stressed that this is subject to timely completion and specifications of the new lighting system at Sabina Park.
Challenges
Delays in lighting installation at Sabina Park
Speaking to Sportsmax in February, Jamaica Cricket Association President Dr. Donovan Bennett revealed that there have been delays in installing the required lights for the day-night Test match. The lights were to be sourced from a local supplier who would procure them from an English manufacturer. However, technical difficulties arose as cheaper lights from China were too heavy for Sabina Park's existing stands and posed potential wind force issues on the pylons.
Upcoming series
Australia's first Test tour of West Indies since 2015
The upcoming series will kickstart the 2025-2027 ICC World Test Championship cycle for both West Indies and Australia. Australia will travel to the Caribbean after their 2025 WTC final against South Africa scheduled at Lord's in June. Notably, Australia will embark on their first Test tour to the West Indies in a decade (2015), which featured a game at Sabina Park that concluded with a 277-run win for the visitors.
Previous experience
West Indies have hosted one pink-ball Test
The Caribbean will host a pink-ball Test for the second time. The first such fixture was between hosts West Indies and Sri Lanka in Barbados in 2018. The idea of Day-Night Tests has been adopted differently by cricket boards across the world. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has been hesitant over match duration. Since 2015, as many as 23 day-night Tests have been played globally, with Australia hosting 13, according to Cricbuzz.