Playing conditions for the 4-day South Africa vs Zimbabwe Boxing Day Test

Test cricket has certainly been impacted by the introduction of T20 cricket. With the presence of a handful of domestic leagues in top cricketing nations around the world, fans get to witness a T20 match almost every other day. This is not the case with Test cricket. A relatively less number of Test matches are played in the current scenario. Players are greeted with empty stadiums. The TRP is also on the decline.

To lure more and more people into watching the traditional form of cricket, several innovations are being made that would make the game more fan-centric. First was the introduction of Pink Ball in the day-night Test where matches are played in the evenings. It may be too early to call day-night Tests a success as only seven games have been played thus far. The latest innovation in Test cricket has come in the form of 4-day matches. A South Africa vs Zimbabwe Boxing Day Test match is scheduled to be played for four days.

The rules

The one-off day-night four-day Test between South Africa and Zimbabwe, starting Tuesday is set to be staged under experimental playing conditions. A day in this game will span for six and a half hours, half an hour more than in five-day games, with 98 overs due to be bowled, instead of 90. There is no provision to carry forward lost overs of the previous days. In cases of rain and bad light, the game will start with reduced overs as the timings are “tight.”

The first two sessions of play will be two hours 15 minutes each, instead of two hours, with a 20-minute tea break instead of a lunch break after the first session. There will be a 40-minute dinner break after the second session.  A follow-on can be enforced with a lead of 150 runs, compared to 200 runs in five-day games.

Play will start at 1:30 pm (11:30 GMT) each day. The South Africa-Zimbabwe match will be the eighth day-night Test and the first to be played in South Africa. Four of the previous seven day-night games have been played in Australia.