Cricket Australia is pushing plans for day-night Test matches, believing it may be the only way to protect the traditional form of the game from being swamped by the popularity of Twenty20 cricket. CA Chief Executive James Sutherland said Thursday that Test cricket had become “in a commercial sense less appealing” than other forms of the game because its five-day duration and daytime schedule posed difficulties for broadcasters and sponsors. Sutherland accepted purists might object, but Cricket Australia was pressing ahead with the idea of staging day-night Test matches. “It just might be the only one that Test cricket stays alive,” Sutherland said. “None of us want the game to go down that (extinction) path and we've got a duty to try to ensure that Test cricket remains attractive and relevant in today's society.” While Test crowds dwindle, limited overs and Twenty20 matches which are often played at night in television's prime time attracted a larger audience and offered greater commercial rewards. Sutherland said CA was working with Australian researchers to develop a new ball which was dew-proof and highly visible for night games while retaining the traditional properties of Test-match balls whose wear pattern influences games. Gibbs to miss series Opener Herschelle Gibbs will miss South Africa's One-Day International series against Bangladesh after breaking a team curfew, Cricket South Africa (CSA) said on Thursday. Gibbs broke the curfew before Wednesday's Pro20 match against Bangladesh in Johannesburg, although he looked in fine touch during the game, hitting four fours in an over and scoring 18 off 10 balls. “Herschelle's behavior is unacceptable in the context of team discipline,” national coach Mickey Arthur was quoted as saying in a CSA statement released on Thursday. Gibbs will miss the three-match series at a time when he was under pressure to keep his place in the national side. The statement said the 34-year-old would also have to undergo an alcohol rehabilitation course. NZ banks on pace New Zealand is pinning its hopes on its fast bowlers for the opening Test against Australia in Brisbane starting on Nov. 21. Five pacemen were included in a 15-man squad, announced on Thursday, leaving captain Daniel Vettori as the only spinner. The tourists will play a four-day practice match against New South Wales state next week before heading to Brisbane to prepare for the first of two Tests. Squad for first Test: Daniel Vettori (captain), Aaron Redmond, Jamie How, Jesse Ryder, Ross Taylor, Peter Fulton, Daniel Flynn, Brendon McCullum, Grant Elliott, Gareth Hopkins, Tim Southee, Iain O'Brien, Kyle Mills, Mark Gillespie, Chris Martin.
