Sabina Park Eyes Historic First Day-Night Test with Australia

Cricket West Indies is optimistic about hosting its inaugural day-night Test at Sabina Park, Jamaica, during Australia's tour in July. The successful event depends on the completion of a new lighting system, with both CWI and the Jamaican government committed to making it happen.

Cricket West Indies is hopeful that Sabina Park in Jamaica will make history by hosting its first day-night Test match when Australia visits for the third game of their series in July. Historically, Sabina Park has been sidelined from hosting day-night international cricket due to subpar lighting conditions, as reported by ESPNcricinfo. However, Cricket Australia is backing the plan for this Test to be a day-night spectacle, and officials are slated to travel to Jamaica for a pre-tour inspection this month. Notably, Australia has never played a day-night Test away from home.

The Chief Executive Officer of West Indies Cricket, Chris Dehring, has expressed enthusiasm for the possibility of this event, contingent on the timely and specification-compliant completion of a new lighting system. He highlighted the strong support systems in place between the Jamaica Cricket Association and the Jamaican government to ensure success. 'It is of course subject to the new lighting system that's being implemented at Sabina Park, that it is finished in time and of course to specification. We have in place a very strong monitoring and support system to help the Jamaica Cricket Association and the Jamaican government achieve this. We are certainly looking forward to hosting the very first day-night match.' Dehring said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

Previously, the West Indies hosted a one-day-night Test against Sri Lanka in Barbados in 2018. They are set to start their World Test Championship 2025-27 campaign with three home Tests against Australia. Cricket West Indies has unveiled an action-packed schedule for the senior men's and women's teams, running from May to December 2025, packed with both home and away fixtures. The upcoming home series against Australia, from June 25 to July 16, will be Daren Sammy's maiden Test series as head coach of the West Indies, having succeeded Andre Coley as red-ball coach.

The series is scheduled to start with the first Test on June 25 at Kensington Oval in Barbados, followed by the second game at the Grenada National Stadium on July 3. The thrilling series finale will take place on July 12 at Sabina Park, Jamaica. Post-Test matches, the cricketing focus will shift to the shorter format with a string of five T20I games against Australia, running from July 20 to July 28.

(With inputs from agencies.)