Tests can evolve in twilight zone, says Gillespie

All eyes will be on Gillespie’s home city of Adelaide where Australia face New Zealand in the first Test played using a pink ball.

The Yorkshire first-team coach – who returns to Adelaide in 10 days to coach the Strikers’ franchise in the Big Bash – predicted the day/night experiment would be a big hit with fans.

Gillespie feels cricket must evolve or risk losing relevance and would also like to see four-day Tests.

“If you look at some of the crowd figures around the world, you could certainly argue that Test cricket is under threat,” said Gillespie, the seventh-highest wicket-taker in Australia’s history.

“If you take out the Ashes, what are the crowd figures? I don’t know the numbers, but I can’t imagine they’d be brilliant.

“We’ve seen Test matches around the world with very small crowds where no-one’s attending, and the alarm bells have been ringing with the sport’s administrators.

“Basically, my attitude is that, as a sport, we need to keep innovating.

“We need to keep evolving, we need to keep looking for new ways to improve things, and day/night Tests are something we have to explore.

“The fact is, we won’t know how successful they can be unless we give them a really good go, and this is the start of that.

“Personally, I think the public’s going to vote with their feet and you’ll see huge crowds turn out at Adelaide.

“I love Test cricket, but we need to make it relevant to ensure that it not only survives, but thrives going forward.”

Gillespie’s optimism is borne out by ticket sale projections for the Adelaide Oval.

Around 40,000 are expected on day one, with significant take-up for subsequent days.

Cheaper “twilight tickets” –available after 4pm, and effectively enabling spectators to watch the last two sessions – have further boosted sales.

Keith Bradshaw, chief executive of South Australia Cricket Association, and a prime mover in the pink-ball concept, has described interest in the fixture as “Ashes-like”.

Gillespie continued: “Evolution is key, and when you look at it, the game has always evolved.

“It all started with underarm bowling, then there were timeless Test matches, uncovered pitches, the boundary ropes were brought in, and so on.

“There’s been so many changes over the years.

“Consequently, I don’t buy all the arguments that, ‘Oh, because it’s a different-coloured ball we have to change everything, we have to have separate statistics in the record books’, and things like that.

“Let’s just crack on and give it a go, and then we can review whether it’s been successful or not.

“To be honest, I think we could go a step further now and play four-day Tests.

“I wouldn’t be opposed to that in any way, shape or form.

“The bottom line is, we’ve got to keep evolving to get people through the gates and keep people interested.

“Cricket needs to move with the times.”

Gillespie’s only reservation about pink ball cricket is the pink ball itself, which has drawn a mixed reaction from players.

The New Zealand Cricket Players’ Association expressed strong doubts about the pink Kookaburra ball that will be used in Adelaide, amid concerns over softness and visibility in the twilight period, although the manufacturer insists it is as close to the red ball version as possible.

“To be honest, I’m not convinced about the Kookaburra pink ball,” said Gillespie.

“I’d be interested to see how a Duke pink ball went (the make of ball used in England) as a lot of the feedback has been quite negative about the Kookaburra.

“At the same time, I do think that the most important thing is that we are open to trying out new things, new concepts, and day/night Tests are a great idea.”

Meanwhile, with the 2016 county cricket fixtures due to be announced in the next fortnight, Gillespie has warned that Yorkshire will also need to keep evolving to maintain their status as county champions.

The former fast bowler believes it will be tougher to win the title next year, with Surrey and Lancashire having come up from Division Two and with the likes of Ian Bell set to play more regularly for Warwickshire after being dropped by England.

“I think 2016 is going to be a very tough year in Championship cricket for those sorts of reasons,” said Gillespie, “and if we take our foot off the gas we won’t be in the frame.”