Indian umpire S Ravi to officiate in first ever Day/Night Pink ball Test
Mumbai: India's VK Ramaswamy and Piloo Reporter were Test cricket's first neutral umpires after being invited by Pakistan skipper Imran Khan during Pakistan vs West Indies at Lahore in November 1986. On Friday, another Indian umpire S Ravi will be one of the two on-field umpires officiating for the game's first ever Day/Night Test between Australia and New Zealand at Adelaide Oval.
According to Cricket Australia (CA) spokesperson Angela Logan, the match officials for the first ever D/N Test are India's S Ravi and England's Richard Illingworth (both on field umpires), England's Nigel Long (TV umpire), Australia's Simon Fry (reserve umpire) and Sri Lanka's Roshan Mahanama (Match Referee).
In the history of 138 years of Test cricket, there will be a ‘role reversal’ for tea and lunch (dinner) breaks. Session times for the Day-Night Test (ACST) are: 2pm-4pm, (20 minutes: tea break), 4.20 pm-6.20 pm (40 minutes: dinner break) 7pm-9pm.
Wife will be busy
Jayasri, the wife of India's 50-year-old umpire will be busy switching her TV sets on different channels as timings of the D/N Test will clash with the Nagpur Test (India vs South Africa) in progress.
Of course, the Test in India moves with such a speed, she will hardly be the loser on remaining other days of the Test. Speaking from Chennai on Thursday morning, she says, "I am interested in following both the Test matches. I want India to do well in the Nagpur Test and my husband to do well in the first D/N Pink ball Test match."
"The news about Ravi's posting for the D/N Test came couple of months back when he was appointed for this series. Very happy that my husband (an Indian umpire) will be officiating in the first day/night Pink ball Test match," she said.
"When things don't go well, I keep telling him to work hard and keep believing in God," she added.
The wife could not go to Australia to be the witness of the historic game. "Kids’ exams, house, other commitments did not allow me to go to Australia," she signed off.
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