Shaun Pollock calls for pink ball in day Tests as Durban bad light reignites debate

Pollock renews pink-ball push after Durban washout

Former South Africa all-rounder Shaun Pollock has called for the use of pink balls in traditional daytime Test matches to minimise the loss of playing time due to bad light, reigniting a long-running debate over whether cricket should abandon its red-ball convention.

The suggestion follows persistent weather interruptions that disrupted the ongoing first Test between South Africa and Australia at Kingsmead in Durban. Across the first three days only 221 of the scheduled 270 overs were bowled, and the match finally enjoyed an extended spell of uninterrupted sunshine on Monday.

"You cannot play Test cricket past bad light time"

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has permitted the use of pink balls in daytime Test matches on a trial basis since 1 October, provided both captains agree before the game. Once approved, the pink ball must be used throughout the match, with no switch back to the traditional red ball possible.

Pollock, speaking to Fox Sports, insisted his proposal was not about staging a day-night fixture but about keeping play alive in poor light:

"I am not saying for one moment that we should have used the pink ball and played a day-night game. I just believed we should have used the pink ball for the day game. It is not irrelevant 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."

His argument rests on the visibility advantage of the pink ball, which could allow umpires to continue in conditions where a red ball would no longer be considered safe to use. With Test cricket increasingly under pressure to maximise playing time, the proposal raises the question of whether tradition should take precedence when weather threatens to affect a result.

The captain-agreement hurdle

The trial's requirement that both captains agree before the match has already proved decisive. No such discussions took place between South Africa and Australia ahead of the Durban Test, reported on 12 October, leaving the option unused and the match played with the traditional red ball.

Pollock questioned whether teams would accept the change when the stakes are highest:

"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?"

Ashwell Prince defends the red ball

South Africa senior assistant coach Ashwell Prince remains firmly opposed, arguing that uneven experience between nations makes consensus difficult:

"For me, outside of a day-night Test, it has got to be a red ball. I think, obviously some nations have played a lot more pink ball cricket than others and so, therefore, to get both captains to agree is always going to be a challenge. 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. But for me, you know, Test matches are the red ball."

The contrasting positions underline the challenge facing cricket's authorities as they weigh protecting playing time against preserving the character of the longest format.