Bangladesh’s cricket board has quietly moved the clock forward for the forthcoming men’s series against New Zealand and the women’s T20Is versus Sri Lanka. In short, every match is now set to finish before sunset.
The three ODIs, originally pencilled in as standard day-nighters, will begin at 11.00 am local time rather than 2.00 pm. Sunset in mid-April hovers around 6.30 pm in Dhaka and Chattogram, so the board believes it can keep the floodlights off, trimming roughly four hours of electricity from each game.
“The board has decided to readjust the match timings of the forthcoming Bangladesh vs New Zealand ODI and T20I series to support the energy saving initiative of the Bangladesh Government. The revised timing, which will be announced in due course, will aim to make maximum use of daylight in the day-night games,” the BCB said on Wednesday.
The men’s T20Is follow suit. Instead of 6.00 pm starts, the opening two games in Chattogram get under way at 2.00 pm, while the third – already an afternoon affair in Dhaka – remains unchanged. A 2.00 pm start in the shortest format should see stumps called at roughly 5.10 pm, well clear of the lights.
It’s the same story in Sylhet, where Bangladesh Women face Sri Lanka on 28 and 30 April and 2 May. Those matches now begin at 1.30 pm rather than 6.00 pm.
Why the sudden shift? Bangladesh, like plenty of nations, is wrestling with higher fuel prices and an occasionally fragile power grid. Sport has been asked to do its bit. A senior board administrator – off the record, but fairly frank – conceded the BCB “had little room to argue” once the ministry laid out the numbers.
Players seem unfazed. A member of the men’s squad, chatting after training, said the earlier start was “no big deal – we’ve played plenty of morning cricket at home”. Coaching staff have adjusted warm-ups; dew, usually an evening nuisance, is now irrelevant.
New Zealand arrive next week, scheduled for ODIs on 17, 20 and 23 April, followed by T20Is on 27, 29 April and 2 May. Sri Lanka’s women touch down at around the same time.
Floodlights will stay on standby – late-April weather can be fickle – yet the objective is clear: daylight cricket, lighter power bills, same contest.
