England have no plans to use pink balls in Test cricket this summer, despite the International Cricket Council (ICC) promoting a trial to reduce time lost for bad light. Daily Mail Sport understands that there is a reluctance from England to implement a switch from red balls to pink when visibility becomes an issue.
ICC Pilot Announcement
The ICC announced the new pink ball pilot for Test matches on Monday. However, there is yet to be a date stamp for its introduction, as it is yet to be written into the playing conditions and will therefore not be an option for the Lord’s meeting between Ben Stokes’ team and New Zealand starting on Thursday.
According to insiders, this entire series comes too early, as all full member countries must agree to any amendments, including the conditions in which alternating would be permitted and the framework for inter-changes to happen.
How the Pink Ball Would Work
Using pink balls under floodlights would temporarily transform a traditional Test into a day-night one, maximising playing time when match officials deem it unsuitable to continue with a red one. Pink balls have been used in day-night Test matches, predominantly played in Australia, until now. England played the first pink-ball Test against West Indies in August 2017 at Edgbaston.
However, only in instances of both teams agreeing before the start of a match would it be available, and England have not taken to floodlit Test cricket, playing just one on home soil - against West Indies nine years ago. As Daily Mail Sport reported earlier this year, the ECB are firmly against playing an Ashes Test under lights in 2029-30.
Reactions from Other Teams
While Cricket Australia have chosen to host next year’s 150th anniversary Test at the MCG as a day-night contest, the decision to do so for such a prestigious occasion has been met with criticism from both sides of the Anglo-Aussie divide. Meanwhile, New Zealand, as the first tourists of this international summer, were awaiting further notification on a timeframe from international bosses.
England’s second three-match Test series of 2026, against Pakistan, runs from August 19 to September 13.
