Follow UsCricket West Indies (CWI) are hopeful of hosting a day-night Test at the iconic Sabina Park when Australia will visit them for a three-match Test series. According to the Future Tour Programmes (FTP), the third Test between the two teams is expected to be a pink-ball Test, and the tickets too have cited the same.
However, the biggest catch remains whether new floodlights could be installed at the venue ahead of the clash. As it currently stands, the floodlights that are used at the venue aren’t international standards, with work being done to upgrade the lighting system.
"The Australians have agreed for it to be a day-night Test match," Chris Dehring said at a press conference on Monday. "It is of course subject to the new lighting system that's being implemented at Sabina Park, that it is finished in time and of course to specification
"We have in place a very strong monitoring and support system to help the Jamaica Cricket Association and the Jamaican government achieve this. We are certainly looking forward to hosting the very first day-night match."
Jamaica Cricket Association’s President, Dr Donovan Bennett, insisted that there have been some delays over the fixing of the lights but remained hopeful that the work will be done before the Test.
"We are supposed to get the lights from our local supplier who will source them from a manufacturer in England," he said. "There were some technical challenges because while we could have gotten cheaper lights from China, they were too heavy for the existing stands at Sabina Park. The wind forces on the pylons would have been a major issue."
Australia will be visiting West Indies for the first time since 2015 for a red-ball series, where Australia have some good memories, as Steve Smith smashed a 199 in their 277-run victory at Sabina Park.