After the opening day of the pink-ball Test between Australia and India at the iconic Adelaide Oval was twice disrupted due to a rare floodlight failure, the Cricket Australia issued a statement clarifying the reason of the failure as “switching issue”. The new LED lighting system, installed in late 2023 at a cost of over $5 million, went out not once but twice, leaving players, commentators, and the crowd of 50,186 in stunned disbelief. In the wake of the controversy, Cricket Australia issued a statement acknowledging the issue: “We had a brief internal switching issue that was quickly identified and rectified.”

The light failure, initially seen as a technical glitch, was later revealed to be the result of human error. According to reports from The Age, the incident stemmed from the Australian team’s request for net lights to be turned on for an evening training session. As Australia’s top order faced a disciplined Indian bowling attack, ground staff mistakenly switched off the stadium’s four main light towers instead of activating the net lights.

The first stoppage occurred during the 18th over of Australia’s innings, causing a 25-second delay. However, within moments of play resuming, the error was repeated, this time leading to an extended break of 86 seconds. The double mishap left players visibly frustrated and commentators questioning the efficiency of the newly installed lighting system.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma, bowler Harshit Rana, and Australian batters Nathan McSweeney and Marnus Labuschagne were among those left waiting on the field during the unexpected blackout. The second incident, occurring shortly after the first, exacerbated the situation, leaving players and spectators in limbo for more than a minute.

The confusion in the ground control room, located atop the Western Stand, was highlighted by sources who disclosed that when the computerised light settings were adjusted to turn on the net lights for a throwdown session, the stadium lights inadvertently went out instead. “They went out to turn on the net lights so the night watchman could have a couple of throwdowns, and somehow either turned them to the wrong thing or something tripped,” said an insider.

The light failure became an immediate topic of discussion in the commentary box, with former Australian cricketer Mark Waugh and Indian commentator Harsha Bhogle exchanging humorous quips.

“Oh hello. They’ve run out of electricity in Adelaide. Pretty hot today. Plenty of air conditioners on,” Waugh remarked on Fox Cricket. Bhogle added, “Someone’s fallen asleep, so we have to wait. It’s a first for me, a Test match being stopped because the lights are gone. Is anyone there?”

Waugh quickly responded, “I don’t think I’ve seen this in Australia.”

Australian pacer Mitchell Starc, who had earlier delivered a scintillating performance by taking six wickets, also addressed the unusual situation. “It was quite unusual for it to go out twice in a short space of time,” Starc said after the end of day’s play.

Meanwhile, South Australian Labor MP Tom Koutsantonis took to social media to clarify that the incident was not related to a power supply problem from the state grid. “Whatever caused the light towers at Adelaide Oval to turn off was not related to a lack of power supply from the grid,” he tweeted, adding to the narrative surrounding the incident.

Adelaide Oval has a storied history with its lighting systems. The venue initially introduced retractable lights in the 1990s before upgrading to permanent floodlights in 2000. These were further enhanced in 2014, and the latest LED lighting system was installed in December 2023 to provide a more energy-efficient solution.

File photo from an India vs Australia cricket match at Adelaide© AFP

Ahead of the pink-ball Adelaide Test between India and Australia in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Damian Hough, the head curator of the pitch at the venue, said that six millimeters of grass will be used on the pitch. The Adelaide Test, starting on December 6, sees India entering with both a mental and physical edge, following a dominant performance in the first Test led by Jasprit Bumrah’s bowling and captaincy. However, the visitors will also aim to exorcise the memories of the infamous 2020 Adelaide pink-ball Test, where they were dismissed for their lowest Test score of 36 runs. On that occasion, Pat Cummins (4/21) and Josh Hazlewood (5/8) dismantled the Indian batting line-up, giving Australia a straightforward target of 90 runs to chase.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference about the pitch and grass cover, Hough said, “Everything seems to stay the same. So it is of course matter grass, even grass cover, good deep moisture, but dry and hard. So something where the quicks will get a bit out of it, spinners will be able to get some bite and turn and bounce. But also important for us to get some partnerships in the players and the players to be able to play their shots. Should be around six. Right now we are at seven, but I reckon it will be six millimetres.”

Hough said that though the ground staff is trying to produce a pitch that could offer a fine contest between bat and ball, it could get hard to bat under the lights with the new ball, especially with both teams having quality bowling attacks.

On the possibility of pitch changing with progress of the match like it changed from challenging to easy-to-bat on during the Perth Test, Hough said that while he cannot predict the pitch will change, one always wants pitches to change in Test cricket.

He also said that the pitch in Adelaide should be able to do enough with the new ball for pacers and spinners alike, but also aid batters once the ball gets older.

“Do you want it to change? Of course you do. Test matches should see it change throughout the course of the four or five days. Drop-in pitches are a bit more challenging.”

“There is no doubt about that because they (drop-in pitches) hold together so well. Traditionally in Adelaide, it should do enough with the new ball for the whole game and it still should grip into that grass and bounce and spin for the whole game. But as the ball gets older, hopefully, the players or the batters can build partnerships and score some runs,” he added.

India are currently 1-0 up in the BGT series following their record-shattering 295-run victory in Perth. The second Test will be played in a day-night format in Adelaide, beginning from Friday.

Australia squad (for second Test): Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Beau Webster

India squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar.

Reserves: Mukesh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Khaleel Ahmed, Yash Dayal.