- The spectators and players were plunged into darkness.
- The lights went out twice in a short period of time.
- Adelaide Oval officials have revealed the reason
Adelaide Oval management has revealed what caused the lights to go out during the night session of the Test match between Australia and India on Friday night, but the answer may not be what you think.
Play was briefly stopped twice in a matter of minutes during the final session on Friday night after all of the field’s light towers were turned off.
Only the smallest lights in the stands remained on, and thousands of spectators turned on the torches on their phones. A large number of cricket fans took to social media to blame the problem on renewable energy.
“Maybe they shouldn’t be testing day and night in states that rely on renewable energy,” one posted.
“Lol probably our super reliable green power up and running,” another added.
“Welcome to Australia’s cargo release,” said another.
The Adelaide Oval floodlights went out twice during the second Test between Australia and India
The bewildered players had to wait briefly for the lights to come back on so they could resume play.
Adelaide had previously experienced ongoing problems with blackouts and brownouts due to power outages until a massive Tesla battery was installed in 2017.
Hornsdale’s power reserve includes what was at the time the world’s largest lithium-ion battery.
However, even commentators joked that Adelaide had simply run out of power to power the stadium’s huge floodlights.
‘They have lost power in Adelaide; “It was quite hot today,” said former test driver great Mark Waugh.
“I don’t know if South Australians need to turn off the air conditioning or stop running the kettle, but I hope we’re fine from now on,” Mark Howard joked.
“Someone hasn’t paid their bills here,” David Warner added.
However, Adelaide Oval management has blamed an “internal switching issue” for the dramatic lights-out during the second Test.
It was a reluctant statement from the venue’s management in explaining the situation during the day-and-night test: “We had a brief internal shifting issue which was quickly identified and rectified.”
The blackouts did not stop Australian duo Marnus Labuschagne and Nathan McSweeney from taking control of the match.
Australian pair Nathan McSweeney and Marnus Labuschagne were able to regain their composure during the delays and remained undefeated.
Last year, Adelaide Oval management secured a $5 million LED upgrade to the stadium’s lighting system.
It was hailed as “Australia’s only major stadium with tower lights fitted with pristine white sports lighting and full color ‘light show’ capabilities.”
The upgrade meant that the lights could be restored instantly, whereas older metal halide lights can take between 1 and 15 minutes to reach 90 percent of their full brightness.
“The LED allows for two things: instant on and off of a focused and constant level of illumination across the entire playing field, as well as new capabilities including color, flash and animation,” the December 2023 release reads.