The hashtag #63notout, referring to Hughes’s score when the accident occurred, was trending in Australia on Friday as fans remembered his legacy before cricket’s first day-night Test.
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Australia will host New Zealand at the Adelaide Oval in a match which starts on Friday afternoon and is set to span five days and nights.
The current series between powerhouse India and South Africa has been poorly attended and the scant crowds at the opening matches between the hosts and New Zealand in Brisbane and Perth raised alarm bells in Australia, where Test cricket remains relatively popular.
Last year’s Adelaide test occurred just one week after the talented batsman’s tragic passing.
Play will start at 2pm local time, instead of late morning, and tea will be held after the first session instead of the second, with dinner scheduled between the second and third sessions.
“I was a bit shaken up to be perfectly honest, and I think a couple of the guys were as well”, he said.
“To ensure the best visibility whilst also preserving the natural wear characteristics of the ball throughout the course of the game, we add additional colour to the pink ball and also the white ball”.
“We are creating history playing in the first day-night Test, so I’m sure a lot of people are going to be watching around the world and that’s really exciting for world cricket”, he said.
The second day’s play of that match was abandoned after Hughes’ death, with NZ players visibly distressed when the Test resumed. “We’ve said from the first Test a year ago when we played here ‘he’s with us every day'”.
NEW Zealand’s Martin Guptill has the dubious honour of being the first wicket to fall in a pink ball Test, removed by Josh Hazlewood.
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The pitch in Adelaide looked flat and dry despite talk in the lead-up that more grass would be left on the wicket to help maintenance of the pink ball. “This enhances the brightness of the ball although some say also encourages early swing”, Elliot said.
