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A look back at Australia’s perfect 10 pink-ball victories

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As the Aussies seek to maintain their unbeaten day-night test record, take a look back at how each of their pink-ball wins have come about.

The day-night test has become a staple of Aussie cricket Summers since the inaugural fixture against New Zealand in 2015.

The West Indies will become the newest team for the Aussies to face with the pink ball, with the match taking place at the traditional day-night test venue, the Adelaide Oval.

As the 2022-23 day-night test rolls around, let’s take a look back at the past pink-ball clashes on Aussie soil.

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November 2015 – Australia v New Zealand, Adelaide Oval

Australia won by three wickets

The inaugural day-night test match wasn’t particularly memorable for any achievements or statistics, but the result and finish lived up to the hype, with a low-scoring affair going right down to the wire… on day 3.

Australia’s first-innings score of 224 was the highest for the match, with New Zealand’s 202 and 208 setting the hosts a fourth-innings chase of 187.

Trent Boult proved a threat for the Kiwis, taking 5/60, but Shaun Marsh’s 49 and contributions from David Warner (35), Adam Voges (28) and Mitch Marsh (28) guiding the Aussies to victory.

Peter Siddle hit the winning runs, with an injured Mitchell Starc hobbling back for the second run at the other end.

Josh Hazlewood – who at the beginning of the match took the first-ever day-night test wicket – was awarded Player of the Match, taking 3/66 and 6/70 to spearhead the Aussie attack.

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November 2016 – Australia v South Africa, Adelaide

Australia won by 7 wickets

Australia went into the match 2-0 down against the Proteas, having lost the match-ups in Hobart and Perth.

The game saw three Aussies make their debuts, with Matt Renshaw, Peter Handscomb and Nic Maddinson all receiving Baggy Greens.

South Africa batted first, reaching 9/259, with Faf du Plessis making an unbeaten 118, before making a tactical declaration to send the Aussies into bat under lights.

Making this all the more intriguing was that David Warner had sustained a minor injury, and due to his time off the field, was unable to open the batting for the Aussies.

His replacement, Usman Khawaja, aptly stood up to the task, hitting a brilliant 145, with fifties from Steve Smith, Peter Handscomb and Mitchell Starc steering Australia to a healthy first-innings total of 383.

Despite a knock of 104 from South African opener Stephen Cook, Australia managed to restrict the tourists to 250, setting up a target of just 127.

Steve Smith (40) and David Warner (47) steered the Aussies home, but it was Matt Renshaw who stole the show with a patient innings of 34 from 137 balls.

Deservedly, Khawaja received Player of the Match honours for his century as the ‘nightwatchman’.

December 2016 – Australia v Pakistan, Brisbane

Australia won by 39 runs

Brisbane got its first taste of day-night test cricket in Australia’s subsequent series against Pakistan, and the match that ensued was a modern-day classic.

Twin tons and a 174-run partnership between Steve Smith (130) and Peter Handscomb (105) ensured Australia posted a strong first-innings total of 429.

A dominant performance from the Aussie quicks (Mitchell Starc 3/63, Josh Hazlewood 3/22, Jackson Bird 3/23) saw Pakistan reduced to just 142 in response, with half-centuries from Khawaja (74) and Smith (63) helping the hosts set an improbable target of 490.

But with Australia giving the tourists two days and a session to chase it down, they gave it a fighting shot, with Azhar Ali (71) and Younis Khan (65) providing a platform for Pakistan.

With Younis dismissed as the score sat at 5/173, it still looked like a big challenge.

Enter, Asad Shafiq.

The right-hander compiled a brilliant 137, with support from the tail in the form of Mohammad Amir (48), Wahab Riaz (30) and Yasir Shah (33) giving the Aussies plenty of headaches.

Shafiq brought Pakistan within 40 runs of victory before he fell as the ninth wicket, but a brain-fade from Yasir and a piece of fielding brilliance from Steve Smith brought the tourists’ chase to an agonising end.

Shafiq was awarded player of the match for his fighting innings which brought Pakistan so close to a famous win.

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December 2017 – Australia v England, Adelaide

Australia won by 120 runs

Test cricket under lights returned to Adelaide in 2017, with plenty of hype as the inaugural day-night Ashes test.

Healthy contributions from the Aussie batting order ensured the hosts built a solid first-innings foundation, but Shaun Marsh was the star with a brilliant, unbeaten 126 guiding Australia to a total of 9/442.

England could only muster 227 in reply, with Nathan Lyon claiming 4/60 and Mitchell Starc taking 3/49.

The Poms fought back as Australia looked to build on its first-innings lead, but a brilliant bowling display from James Anderson (5/43) and Chris Woakes (4/36) reduced the hosts to just 138 and set England a fourth-innings chase of 354.

Joe Root compiled a fighting hand of 67, and opener Mark Stoneman and ‘keeper Jonny Bairstow, (who both scored 36) contributed with starts, but a trademark demolition of the tail by Starc (5/88) wrapped the game up as the first-innings deficit proved too much for England.

For his brilliant century in a game otherwise favouring the bowlers, Shaun Marsh received Player of the Match for his 126*.

January 2019 – Australia v Sri Lanka, Brisbane

Australia won by an innings and 40 runs

The preceding series against India was played without a day-night test, but it meant pink-ball international cricket returned to the Gabba for the first of Australia’s two tests against Sri Lanka.

It was a game of debutants for the Aussies, with Jhye Richardson and Kurtis Patterson receiving their first call-up to the Australian test XI.

A spritely bowling display from the Aussies saw Sri Lanka reduced to just 5/66 on day one, led by Jhye Richardson’s first two test wickets, before Niroshan Dickwella produced an entertaining 64 to help the visitors crawl to a score of 144.

Twin eighties from Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head carried Australia from 4/82 to 5/242, as Suranga Lakmal took 5/75 for Sri Lanka to keep Australia to a total of 323.

The fun ended there for Sri Lanka, though, as Pat Cummins tore through the top order on his way to a career-best 6/23, as he ended with the incredible match figures of 10/62 to claim Player of the Match and seal an innings victory in the first test.

November 2019 – Australia v Pakistan, Adelaide

Australia won by an innings and 48 runs

Returning to Australia and day-night test cricket on Aussie soil, Pakistan would certainly have been aiming for a similarly gallant performance to their last pink-ball appearance.

Unfortunately for the tourists, David Warner ensured it was anything but.

Warner blasted 40 boundaries on his way to a mammoth 335*, recording a 361-run partnership with Marnus Labuschagne, who scored 162, as the Aussies reached an incredible 3/589 across four and a half sessions and 127 overs.

Pakistan looked under the pump, slumping to 6/89, before Babar Azam (97) and Yasir Shah put on 105 for the seventh wicket.

Yasir and Mohammad Abbas added another 87 for the ninth wicket, as Yasir reached his maiden test century.

The tourists were bowled out for 302, with Mitchell Starc taking 6/66 for the Aussies.

With Pakistan still 287 runs shy of Australia’s huge total, the Aussies enforced the follow-on, and despite strong batting performances from Shan Masood (68), Asad Shafiq (57) and Mohammad Rizwan (45), Pakistan was bowled out for 239, an innings and 48 runs short of the Aussies.

Unsurprisingly, David Warner was awarded Player of the Match honours for his outstanding triple-hundred.

December 2019 – Australia v New Zealand, Perth

Australia won by 296 runs

Kicking off the subsequent test series, Perth got its first taste of day-night test cricket as the Aussies faced New Zealand at Perth Stadium.

Marnus Labuschagne was the star in Australia’s first innings, adding another test ton to his tally with a dashing 143.

Plenty of eyes were on Steve Smith, too, who endured an entertaining battle with Neil Wagner to reach 43 from 164 balls. Travis Head added 56, before the Aussie tail wagged to reach a solid score of 416 from 146 overs.

In response, Ross Taylor compiled a solid 80, but it was Mitchell Starc who threatened with the ball, taking 5/52 to dismiss the Kiwis for 166.

The Aussies batted again, looking to build an insurmountable chase for the kiwis, with fifties to Joe Burns and Labuschagne setting New Zealand a target of 468.

But it was Mitchell Starc who starred again, securing Player of the Match honours with 4/45, as Australia ran out 296-run winners.

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December 2020 – Australia v India, Adelaide

Australia won by 8 wickets

Plenty of eyes were on the inaugural Border-Gavaskar pink ball match, a notable first given Australia and India didn’t play under lights two years prior.

The match was perhaps a return to the bowling-dominated origins of day-night test cricket, with India’s first-innings 244 the highest innings score for the match.

Skipper Virat Kohli led the way for India with 74, and was aptly supported by Cheteshwar Pujara (43) and Ajinkya Rahane (42).

In response, Australia was under pressure, slumping to 5/79 as Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin ran amok on Australia’s top and middle order.

Marnus Labuschagne was the constant for the Aussies, scoring a steady 47, but Tim Paine was the difference, with his unbeaten 73 keeping the hosts within reach as they were bowled out for 191.

But Australia turned what was a potentially worrying first-innings deficit into an easy target, dismissing India for 36 as no India batter reached double figures.

Pat Cummins had a big early impact on proceedings, with his four wickets helping to reduce India to 6/19, but Josh Hazlewood continued the chaos, taking 5/8 to ensure India’s lead didn’t grow any bigger.

Joe Burns steered the ship home for Australia with an unbeaten 51, as the hosts chased down the target of 93 with eight wickets in hand.

Despite the insane bowling performances of Cummins and Hazlewood, Tim Paine was awarded Player of the Match for his anchoring innings of 73*.

December 2021 – Australia v England, Adelaide

Australia won by 275 runs

The first of two day-night tests in last Summer’s Ashes series, Australia entered the match having gone 1-0 up in the series with a win at the Gabba.

There was little to smile about for England, as the trio of David Warner (95), Marnus Labuschagne (103) and Steve Smith (93) piled on the pain, as Australia built towards a big first-innings total.

Despite that England was able to restrict Smith and Warner and deny the pair test centuries, it didn’t much matter, as Alex Carey (51), Mitchell Starc (39) and debutant Michael Neser (35 off 24) kept the runs flowing to close out Australia’s innings at 9/473.

England lost its openers early in response, with Neser claiming his first test wicket and Mitchell Starc striking in typical fashion, but Dawid Malan (80) and Joe Root (62) combined for a 138-run partnership to boost the tourists’ reply.

Cameos from Ben Stokes (34) and Chris Woakes (24) contributed, but a brilliant bowling display from Starc (4/37) restricted England to 236.

Australia batted again to build on its first-innings lead, extending it to 467 thanks to fifties from Labuschagne and Travis Head, as the hosts left England with four and a half sessions to bat.

The Poms entered day five with six wickets in hand, with Ben Stokes lasting 77 balls and 110 minutes at the crease for just 12 runs in an attempt to salvage a draw.

A defiant seventh-wicket stand lasting across 32 overs from Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes threatened to deny Australia victory, with Buttler producing an epic rearguard of 26 from 207 balls before becoming the ninth wicket to fall.

But as that happened, it was virtually all over, with Jhye Richardson sealing a five-for as he dismissed James Anderson to wrap up the match in its final session.

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Australia won the match by an incongruous 275 runs, with Labuschagne receiving Player of the Match honours for his batting exploits.

January 2022 – Australia v England, Hobart

Australia won by 146 runs

It was another day-night test to wrap up the 2021-22 Ashes series, with Hobart hosting its first pink-ball fixture.

Australia headed into the match with an unassailable 3-0 series lead, but England looked set to keep Australia’s win tally at 3 after Ollie Robinson made an early impact to remove David Warner and Steve Smith for ducks.

But it was once again Marnus to the rescue, the number three steadying the ship with a knock of 44.

Travis Head led the Aussie batting, though, belting a quick-fire 101 to propel the Aussies to a first-innings total of 303. He was aptly supported by Cameron Green (74), the pair sharing a 121-run partnership before Head departed.

In reply, England had a handful of contributors, with Chris Woakes (36) and Joe Root (34) the two highest scorers, but Pat Cummins was largely to thank for England’s inability to respond more strongly.

The skipper took 4/45, claiming the key scalp of his opposing captain among his haul.

The visitors responded well, however, restricting Australia to 155 as Mark Wood produced a blistering spell of 6/37 from his 16 overs. He removed the first-innings centurion in Head, as well as taking Steve Smith’s wicket, helping England to rein Australia’s first-innings lead into a manageable fourth-innings target.

Chasing 271 for victory, England’s openers made a positive start, with Rory Burns (26) and Zak Crawley (36) putting on 68 for the first wicket.

Unfortunately for the Poms, it was all downhill from there, with the trio of Cummins (3/42), Green (3/21) and Scott Boland (3/18 from 12 overs) wreaking havoc with the pink ball to dismiss England for 124, 146 runs shy of Australia.

Travis Head received player of the match for his first-innings ton, while the win was Australia’s tenth day-night test victory, and maintained the Aussies’ perfect pink-ball record.

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