Cricket: Concept of pink ball smashed out for six

Lindsay Crocker.

Plans for a round of Plunket Shield matches with pink balls under lights next month have been scrapped.

That, in turn, is likely to put back the prospect of a day-night test until the 2017-18 season.

New Zealand Cricket had proposed using a round of first-class matches starting on February 20 at Eden Park, Napier's McLean Park and Seddon Park in Hamilton to test the merits of using a pink ball in New Zealand conditions. Those three venues, plus Wellington's Westpac Stadium, are the only possible locations because they have lights.

However, problems with McLean Park's lighting strength has meant the idea is on the shelf but with the intention of looking again at the proposal in the next domestic first-class season.

While Seddon Park was fine and it was expected Eden Park would also work, once a handful of points had been worked through, the strength of the lighting at McLean Park presented an issue.

NZC general manager of cricket Lindsay Crocker pointed out the distinction between playing white ball limited-overs cricket under lights and using a pink ball.

"The white ball only has to last 25 overs (using one ball at each end in a 50-over match) whereas a pink ball has to last 80 overs," Crocker said.

NZC looked at switching the McLean Park game between Central Districts and Wellington, to neutral Seddon Park on a different date, or Westpac Stadium, but scheduling problems scuppered those ideas.

Staging it as a day game would also mean an uneven playing field for the premier domestic competition.

NZC are due to have talks with Cricket South Africa shortly and it may be CSA are willing to press on, even without the pink ball having been trialled.

More likely, however, the target will be a test against England, who are the major incoming tour in the 2017-18 summer. There have been no talks with English officials about the idea, but that will happen this year. NZME