England have no plans to use pink balls in Test cricket this summer despite the 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.
The ICC announced the new pink ball pilot for Test matches on Monday, but 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.
Using would pink balls under floodlights would temporarily transform a traditional Test into a day-night affair, maximising playing time when match officials deem it unsuitable to continue with a red one.
England are reluctant to implement a switch from red balls to pink when visibility becomes an issue
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.
And as Daily Mail Sport reported earlier this year, the ECB are firmly against playing an Ashes Test under lights in 2029-30.
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.
