Michael Slater, who started Ashes series at home (1994-95) and away (2001) with a fusillade of boundaries, had just stepped out of the commentary box at the Adelaide Oval when a journalist accosted him. “How would you have played the pink ball, Michael?” he asked. Slater looked perplexed. “No idea, mate,” he said. ‘The same way I played the red ball?”

NZ players field under lights in Adelaide yesterday. Pic/Getty Images