Tony Becca THE SECOND Test between the West Indies and South Africa is scheduled to start in Durban on Boxing Day and although the odds on winning it must be against the visitors, captain Brian Lara, the man who believes all things are possible, seems fairly confident that with a little luck his team can rise to the occasion, knock off the home team, and level the count at 1-1.
Not many, however, including a number of those West Indians who keep talking about the talent in the team and that the West Indies have turned the corner each time they win a match at home, believe that it will happen.
After South Africa's commanding victory in the first Test, following the bowling of Shaun Pollock, Makhaya Ntini and Andre Nel, the consensus appears to be that only God, Lara himself, and possibly Shivnarine Chanderpaul can help the West Indies.
With a little luck, however, the West Indies could have saved the first Test.
Despite his obvious weakness to good fast bowlers with the new ball, such is his power that a fit Christopher Gayle batting at number one and with Lara batting so well, may well have extended the West Indies first innings, and had that happened, two things would not have happened. South Africa would not have enjoyed a 151-run lead and they would not have been able to declare their second innings closed with a lead that was out of the West Indies reach and with enough time in which to dismiss the West Indies a second time.
In looking towards Durban and hoping for the best, Lara must have remembered not only that he was virtually without the services of one of his better players, but also that after they were set 378 to win in a minimum off 100 overs towards the end of the fourth day, the West Indies fate was sealed when he lost three quick wickets in 10 overs before the end of the day's play.
One reason for that was the speed and skill of Ntini.
Although, to their credit, neither Lara nor manager Ricky Skerritt has said anything about it - certainly not publicly, another possible reason, however, was the artificial lighting. Lest it be forgotten, those 10 overs were bowled under the floodlights at the Wanderers.
Although that was the first time they were turned on in the match, nothing was wrong with it. According to the rules, if natural light is poor or is fading, the umpires have the right to use floodlights, if available, in order to ensure play to the end of the day, and that is that.
That, however, does not seem fair to neither the fielders nor to the batsmen but more so to the batsmen whose one mistake can be final; and it does not seem fair for a number of reasons.
One reason is that as far as seeing the ball is concerned, there is a difference between natural light and artificial light; one reason is that the conditions are different because of the heat coming from the high-voltaged floodlights; and one reason is that the batting team is at a disadvantage.
Although the conditions are seldom the same for both teams during a five-day match, the use of floodlights in one innings of a match, in the last important innings of a match, means that both teams are definitely not playing in the same conditions.
That was the reason why teams complained about the day/night matches during the last World Cup in South Africa, as far as they were concerned, it was more difficult to bat under floodlights than in natural light, it is obviously more difficult to bat under floodlights, the team batting under floodlights is therefore at a disadvantage, as much as is humanly possible, conditions in a match should be equal for the both teams, and it cannot be equal if one team bats in natural light and the other under floodlights.
Day/night matches are appealing, they are convenient to spectators, they bring a lot of money into the game, and because of that artificial lighting, floodlights, is necessary.
Unless an entire match can be played under floodlights, however, it has no place in the World Cup or in Test cricket where victory is really important, where the playing field should really be level, and in the interest of fair play, the International Cricket Council should step in, change the rules governing the use of floodlights in Test cricket and ensure that what happened to the West Indies on Monday in Johannes-burg does not happen in a Test match again.
