Stats: What makes Australia so formidable in day-night Tests at home?
The bat-first advantage, seamers ruling the roost under lights, and Lyon’s roar
Sampath Bandarupalli04-Dec-2024Win toss, bat firstThe key to success in day-night Tests in Australia is in batting first and setting substantial totals. Australia have used this strategy effectively – with luck going their way with the toss – winning on all seven occasions they have batted first. In six of those matches, they posted 400-plus totals.West Indies did similarly earlier this year. After opting to bat, they posted 311 and went on to secure an eight-run win to end Australia’s winning streak in pink-ball Tests.
In all, the team winning the toss has elected to bat first in ten of the 12 day-night Tests in Australia. England have been the only exception – in Adelaide in 2017 and in Hobart in 2022. They let their hold slip on both occasions, allowing Australia’s middle and lower order to score big. New Zealand in 2015 at Adelaide Oval and Sri Lanka at the Gabba in 2019 failed to take advantage of batting first as they were bowled out for 202 and 144, respectively.South Africa were 259 for 9 in Adelaide in 2016 but declared their innings to have a go at the Australia batters in the last hour under lights. The move didn’t work, though, as Australia went to stumps without losing a wicket.
India, in 2020, was the only team to lose a day-night Test in Australia despite taking a first-innings lead. The defeat was sealed when they were bowled out for 36 in the second innings, failing to make the most of a 53-run first-innings lead.New ball makes a differenceOne of the common trends seen in Australia is that the new ball produces much better results in day-night Tests than in day Tests. Since the 2015-16 season, fast bowlers average 33.02 in the first 20 overs of an innings in red-ball Tests. That figure comes down to 24.56 in pink-ball matches.
A big reason behind that is the success of Australia’s fast bowlers, who average 18.87 with the new pink ball against 25.01 with the new red ball. Even the visiting quicks have done better in pink-ball Tests, averaging 33.94 in the first 20 overs against 45.91 in red-ball Tests.The batters’ struggles against the new pink ball are obvious – wickets fall about two overs quicker on average in the first 20 overs against seamers in pink-ball Tests than in red-ball matches.Batting isn’t easy in the final sessionFast bowlers, in general, have thrived under lights in Australia, making it the most challenging phase for batters. They average 20.30 in the final session, compared to 23.03 in the first and 32.01 in the second sessions. The numbers for Australia’s fast bowlers are even more impressive: they currently average 14.66 under lights across 12 day-night Tests at home. Their corresponding numbers for the first and second sessions are 20.82 and 24.57, respectively.Conversely, Australia’s batters have fared better under lights compared to the first two sessions. The visiting fast bowlers have averaged 32.08 in the final session despite conceding only 25.04 per wicket in the first session.
Adelaide Oval’s day-night Tests, though, present a unique scenario with fast bowlers excelling in the first session, averaging 23.02, but their performance dips to 25.66 in the third. Visiting seamers have also performed better in the afternoon session (average of 32.37) compared to the third session (average 41.37).On the other hand, Australia’s pacers enjoy bowling equally in the first and third sessions. They average 17.42 in the afternoon and 18.26 under lights. That has meant only one team has managed to surpass the 300-run mark against them in Adelaide in day-night Tests – 302 by Pakistan in 2019, but it came after they conceded 589 in the first innings.Lyon outperforms visiting spinnersAustralia has been a challenging country for visiting spinners, be it with the red ball or the pink ball. The visiting spinners have averaged 62.31 in 36 red-ball Tests in Australia since the 2015-16 season, while their average in the day-night Tests is 64.44.
Nathan Lyon has been different, though. Since 2015-16, he has averaged 25.58 in day-night Tests against 31.80 in red-ball Tests at home. Lyon also takes seven balls fewer to strike in the pink-ball Tests than in \red-ball matches.Labuschagne and Starc lead the chartsGiven his remarkable success in pink-ball Tests, Marnus Labuschagne has a golden chance to turn his batting fortunes around. He is the leading run-getter in pink-ball Tests in Australia, totalling 894 runs in 14 innings at an average of 63.85. Labuschagne has made four centuries in these Tests; Travis Head with two is the next best.Mitchell Starc’s dominance in pink-ball Tests is unparalleled, too. He is the only one with 50-plus wickets in pink-ball Tests in Australia. His 66 wickets have come at an average of 18.71. Josh Hazlewood (37 at 18.86) and Pat Cummins (34 at 18.35) also have a sub-20 average, and Scott Boland, who will likely replace Hazlewood in the second Test against India, has seven wickets at 13.71 in two pink-ball outings.