Cricket rages against the dying of the light

PL wrestles with suggestions a pink ball might give fans more cricket when the light fades

Farce is an underrated art form, introduced, if memory from my 1982 dabble in the dramatic arts is correct, by ad-libbing actors keen to lighten the load of 15th-century religious dramas. Test cricket mines the art form better than most modern sports, especially when it comes to playing conditions, and particularly when it comes to the taking of the light. Mannered, mired in tradition and occasionally hobbled by it, those head-scratching moments can be so infuriating that if you didn’t laugh, you’d, well, start watching T20.

I watched a man in a vintage American car attempting to find a park in the roiling chaos caused by trucks delivering or exiting the factories that surround my local cafe this morning. He was, unsurprisingly, given his car was almost as long as the inner-city block he was trying to navigate, unsuccessful. Presumably, he went home or found somewhere more accommodating for his vehicle. I’d already tucked my hygienic little Japanese hybrid into a tiny space (I make a habit of putting vaseline on the bumpers) in much the same way sparrows tuck themselves into a gap in the urban construct, and was enjoying my breakfast.

Was I winning? I’m not sure, I can only imagine how much joy that man got from his classic car, how much pride he took in it, how much fun it must be to navigate it like a large ship in the city’s canals. The satisfaction of wrestling it into an appropriate space. And, just how freaking cool that car was.

So, the ICC, according to a few recent reports, is considering using a pink ball to keep Test cricketers on the field as the light begins to fail. (Earlier reports on the proposal also included permitting coaches to take the field during drinks breaks.)