ECB’s proposed first day-night Test match between England and Bangladesh was nipped in the bud after two counties refused to try the pink ball in their four-day championship final round match.
The England and Wales Cricket Board had proposed to host the first floodlit Test match in May next year but without a successful trial the International Cricket Council would refuse to sanction such a change.
“It needs a proper series of trials and that cannot now be done in time. Playing a Test in anything but white clothing is also an issue,” ECB chairman Giles Clarke was quoted as saying in Sunday Times .
Durham and Worcestershire were the two country sides who were asked to test the pink ball in their four-day match at New Road but both the teams refused to play with such a ball.
“I was not keen. It was a first-class match and I thought we should retain the game’s integrity,” Durham coach Geoff Cook said.
Marylebone Cricket Club’s assistant secretary John Stephenson said it was important to find the right kind of ball and try it properly before thinking of a day-night Test.
“There’s always resistance to change. We have got to find a ball that’s durable and that really is the sticking point.
Until we’ve trialled it in a three or four-day match, we won’t know for sure,” he said.
