Fleming joins chorus against night Tests

Former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming has spoken out against the idea of playing Test cricket under lights to cater to a bigger television audience, fearing that Tests would lose their appeal and character. Fleming felt it wasn't time for the game to undergo another makeover, with one-dayers and Twenty20 games drawing enough crowds.

"For me Test cricket has created its own niche," Fleming told New Zealand's Radio Sport. "Its popularity comes and goes but I don't think we need to tamper with it too much. I understand TV rights, the audiences, and what they may be but I think Test cricket should be left as it is.

"Twenty20 is popular, one-day cricket still draws crowds. I don't know what more you have to do to put cricket at the forefront of people's minds. If we put Tests in the same category as Twenty20 or one-dayers we risk diminishing it further."

Fleming is the latest - after Daniel Vettori, Ricky Ponting and Ian Chappell - to join the chorus against Cricket Australia's proposal to experiment with the traditional format of the game. All three stated that the biggest issue would be the colour of the balls used, given that batsmen have found it difficult to pick the red ball under lights. The innovation was trialled during Australia's domestic season from 1994-95 to 1998-99 but had to be scrapped after the batsmen struggled for runs.

Fleming also questioned how practical, in terms of timing, the idea would be for players and fans. James Sutherland, Cricket Australia's chief executive, proposed that matches could be played from 3pm-10pm instead of the current schedule of 11am-6pm. "It's cold, there's a dew factor. We're unsure about what ball can be used. It is a little bit hard to pick up under lights."