Cricket South Africa has overcome its "initial hesitancy and confirmed on Wednesday that the third and final test of the tour of Australia will be a day-night fixture at Adelaide Oval starting on Nov. 24," according to Nick Said of REUTERS. The Proteas "had been reluctant to be involved in a day-night match having never played with a pink ball," but with two warm-up matches under lights planned for the October-November tour, CSA said that it was now willing to play the fixture. South Africa captain AB de Villiers added that the "major concern for the players was having adequate preparation with a pink ball." He said, "We were never against this exciting concept but only wanted to give ourselves the best opportunity of competing in conditions that will be new and foreign to us. Two warm-up matches will hopefully give us an idea of what to expect and hopefully our preparations will help us to adapt accordingly" (REUTERS, 6/8). The AP reported Australia also scheduled a day-night test match against Pakistan at the Gabba in Brisbane starting Dec. 15. South Africa opens its three-test series against Australia on Nov. 3 in Perth, followed by a Hobart test from Nov. 12. Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland said, "Nearly 124,000 people attended the inaugural day-night test match in Adelaide last year and there has been great anticipation about future day-night tests since" (AP, 6/8).
