L-R: Shaun Pollock; and South African batters at stumps on Day 4 of first Test vs Australia in Durban.
Pollock’s suggestion comes after persistent weather interruptions disrupted the ongoing first Test between South Africa and Australia at Kingsmead in Durban, with only 221 of the scheduled 270 overs bowled across the first three days. The match finally enjoyed an extended spell of uninterrupted sunshine on Monday, but South Africa were left facing a daunting target of 421 after Australia’s second-innings declaration. Because if you use the red ball, all of a sudden you cannot play Test cricket past bad light time, but if you use the pink one, you can,” he said, it is not irrelevant.
“I am not saying for one moment that we should have used the pink ball and played a day-night game,” Pollock told Fox Sports. “If this was a final or a game where you had to win to enter the World Test Championship final and it was 1-all in the series, and Australia was playing South Africa and you tell them, ‘Let’s use the pink ball because we are going to lose 100 overs to bad light’ do you think they would agree or not agree?” he questioned. But for me, you know, Test matches are the red ball,” said Prince.
Once approved, the pink ball must be used throughout the match, with no provision to switch back to the traditional red ball. “I just believed we should have used the pink ball for the day game. With Test cricket increasingly under pressure to maximise playing time, Pollock’s proposal raises a question about whether tradition should take precedence when weather threatens to affect the outcome of a match. Even if the pink ball could help reduce weather-related interruptions, teams may be reluctant to adopt a format with which they have limited experience. “To get both captains to agree to that, some teams will feel that they simply do not have enough experience of it, so, I think it would be very difficult to get both captains to agree.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has recently permitted the use of pink balls in daytime Test matches on a trial basis, provided both captains agree to the arrangement before the game. His comments highlight a potential obstacle to the ICC’s trial: the requirement for both captains to agree before the match.