IT will have been almost four years in the making, but cricket has taken another step towards returning under lights in January 2020.
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During the week, extra banks of lights were installed on the towers at Oxley Oval enabling them to be upgraded from 100 to 300 lux.
It means a Hastings River District Cricket Association president's versus vice-president's fixture has been pencilled in as the match to re-launch night-time cricket in the region.
The last time cricket was played once the sun went down was back in 2015.
HRDCA president Craig Lobegeier said the match would be played in January "sometime" in an exciting venture for cricket in the Hastings.
"The first game we will use the lights will be for a president's versus vice-president's match which will be for a bit of fun and then we will see how we go," he said.
"Hopefully we can have one of the Premier League twenty20 matches played there and then we will look at a 40-over game."
The fixture between Port City Leagues Magpies and Port Macquarie Pirates on February 1 is one match being considered as a day-nighter.
"It's one step at a time," Lobegeier said.
Pending any unforeseen problems, the lights should be switched on and functioning by January, allowing night fixtures to be played with a pink ball.
"We also want to play some of the under-16 junior matches on a Friday night to give us a bit more time to prepare the wickets for Saturday," Lobegeier said.
One or two matches from the veterans carnival scheduled for Port Macquarie on February 2-4 is also on the radar to be played at night.
"There is no reason we can't play a match there under lights if the wickets stand up."
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