Australia v Sri Lanka: Time for Test cricket to emerge from the dark ages

Cricket has dragged itself into the modern era in many ways in recent years but when it comes to lighting, it can still have a tendency to live in the dark ages.

The decision by the Sri Lankan Cricket Board to not allow the use of floodlights during this intriguing first Test has robbed players and, perhaps more importantly, local spectators and television viewers of the action they had paid for. It also makes the sport look silly.

If there are lights at the ground, as there are here at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, and the umpire's meter falls below the required baseline, then they should be turned on.

The SLC argued that as the venue of next week's second Test, Galle, does not have lights, then the entire series should only be staged under natural light. However, there is no official ICC stipulation which advocates this stance.

Australia's Steve Smith speaks with umpire Sundaram Ravi as the light fades on day four of the first Test between Sri Lanka and Australia. Photo: Eranga Jayawardena

Cricket Australia argued otherwise, and wants to take to the field in every situation possible. As a result of the decision here, play was lost after a brief spell on Thursday after tea, while the entire post-tea session was scrapped on Friday because of bad light. Rain, later, would also have had an impact.

That frustration was exacerbated by the final sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday being abandoned because of rain. The tourists' disappointment was obvious when it took so long to get on to the field at the start of day four, as play was held up because ground staff felt rain was on the way. It was - but not until there had been another exciting start to the session.

"If there is cloud around, we are not sure when we start. We seemed to be hanging around quite a bit this morning, waiting for rain to come. It was in the air but didn't quite arrive well into the morning session," Australia's batting coach Stuart Law said after play on Friday.

He also made it clear how the tourists felt about the light switch not being flicked on.

"Both countries have to agree to it. We were quite happy to proceed, that's our policy in Australia. We are playing day-night Test matches now. Even red-ball cricket, if the lights are available, we want to use them," he said.

"We want to play as much as we can, so, once again, that call is out of our hands. We can't do much about it. It is disappointing but that's the way it is."

The poor attendance for the first Test has not been helped by the match largely being held through the working week. Plus, this ground is about a 40-minute drive from the heart of Kandy, making it more difficult to attend using public transport. There are plans to return Test cricket to the old Asgiriya Stadium in town.

Test cricket, in terms of it being spectator support, is struggling to survive on the sub-continent, as many fans save their precious money for one-day internationals and the Twenty20 variety where a result is almost certain.

That's not always the case in Test cricket, even in this modern age when most teams feel they owe it to themselves, and their supporters, to play to win. When something as simple as flicking on the floodlights at a venue which has has been built with that capability impedes this, then it's not helping anyone's cause.

Lighting would surely become a bigger issue if a suggestion to reduce Tests to a maximum of four days was ever implemented. That would have meant this Kandy clash would have had little more than eight sessions.

While sporting events in Australia would have warranted little consideration from the SLC board, the absence of prime-time action on Fox Sports this week - one of the benefits of sub-continental cricket when watching from the couch - does not help the sport at a time when football leagues are reaching their pointy end and that minor event called the Olympics is about to begin.

Sri Lanka president Thilanga Sumathipala told the Cricinfo website before this Test that his board was doing all it could to improve facilities and attract supporters.

"There's a culture of people participating in a Test match whenever there is some excitement. We prefer to have the Test venues built up in a different way from the limited-overs venues. It has to be done in a scientific way. There also have to be facilities for women and children," he said.

That's right, but ensuring the players are on the field for as long as possible - the core "product" of what this multibillion-dollar sport is all about - has to be the priority.