(MENAFN- AsiaNet News)

Day-night Test a 'different challenge'

England captain Ben Stokes has said that playing a day-night Test is a different challenge. Stokes' statement comes ahead of the second Test against Australia in Brisbane, which starts on December 4. Notably, the second Test will be a day-night game.

"It is a different challenge, you know, day-nighter, you know, start the day where it's like this and then you come on the lights, it's a different ball, pink, conditions will change when those lights come on, and whoever's bowling, you know, that tends to be how it goes out here in Australia. So yeah, look, we've got five days of training here, getting used to all those, you know, different conditions that we'll be faced with. We couldn't actually get into the Gabba on Sunday, so thanks to Alan Borderfield here for letting us use their facilities," Stokes said while speaking to England Cricket. "But, yeah, two of which are under the lights at Adelaide, about where we will be playing. So yeah, we're using our time very wisely here and know that we're going into this game very well prepared," he added.

Training with the pink ball

The England captain also spoke about doing training with the pink ball in the heat. He added that when the Three Lions get to train under the lights, things could change completely.

"Look, we're all playing at the highest level of the sport, seriously good players and that's what training's for. Training to figure out what it might do, what we're going to be faced with. We'll be bowling with the pink ball in the heat, the lads will be batting with the pink ball under the heat today and then obviously when we get to those two training sessions that we have on the lights, things will be completely different," the England captain said. "We're all good enough players to work all that kind of stuff out ourself but I'm sure people will come to the likes of myself, Joe and the other lads who have played in the day-night test match and maybe try to pick their brains about tiny little things but you put lads in situations where you try and let them work it out for themselves because they're all good enough players to be able to do that," Stokes added.

Utilising extra training time

Ben Stokes highlighted the need to get used to the pink ball when it's not under lights. He added that they got extra days of training after the first Test, which Australia won by eight wickets in Perth, was inside just two days.

"Look, we, let's see, you come away in a two-and-a-half-month tour and you've obviously got to put a lot of planning into that and before something's happened, you've obviously got to plan like every game is going to go five days. That wasn't the case. So we had to sort of go back to the drawing board and go, right, we've got eight days or nine days until the next test," England captain said. "We had a three-day schedule, I think, but the game lasted two days. So we were like, right, okay, let's get some more training in and give ourselves even more opportunity to get used to this pink ball and what it's going to do, not only under lights, but also when it's not under lights. So yeah, you've got to change when things don't go to plan. That's what we've ended up doing this week," Stokes added.

Australia lead series 1-0

Australia won the first Test in Perth by eight wickets. Travis Head played a match-winning 123 runs to guide the hosts to chase down the 205-run target. Australia are leading the five-match Test series 1-0. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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