Shaun Pollock proposes using pink ball in day Tests amid bad-light issues at Kingsmead

Shaun Pollock has suggested using the pink ball in daytime Test matches to reduce overs lost to bad light during the ongoing first Test between South Africa and Australia at Kingsmead, amid weather interruptions affecting the fixture.

South Africa were 102 for 4 in a chase of 421 at the end of Day 4, with playing time lost during the first three days limiting the match to 221 of the scheduled 270 overs. The International Cricket Council has recently authorised a trial permitting pink balls in daytime Tests, but the switch requires both captains to agree before the match begins and, if approved, the pink ball must be used for the entire Test with no option to revert to the red ball.

Pollock made clear he was not proposing a day-night Test and framed the suggestion as applicable to matches played entirely in daylight. "I am not saying for one moment that we should have used the pink ball and played a day-night game," Pollock said. "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," he added.

He also raised the question of whether teams would accept such a change when a result or series outcome was at stake, citing a hypothetical Australia–South Africa scenario with a place in the World Test Championship final on the line and asking whether both sides would agree to use the pink ball if poor light threatened to cost them a significant number of overs.

South Africa senior assistant coach Ashwell Prince disagreed with Pollock, arguing that the red ball should remain the standard for traditional day Tests and that the pink ball should be limited to matches scheduled as day-night fixtures. "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," Prince said. He added: "But for me, you know, Test matches are the red ball," Prince said.

Under the ICC trial conditions, any use of the pink ball in a daytime Test hinges on pre-match consent from both captains; if they agree, the pink ball must be used for the whole match with no return to the red ball.