Warwickshire to test pink ball in push for day-night Tests

The reality of day-night Test cricket in England has moved a step closer with news that Warwickshire are to host a second-team match under floodlights at Edgbaston.

Edgbaston had already emerged as one of the venues expressing an interest in hosting a day-night Test against West Indies in August 2017, but the fact that the ECB have sanctioned this game suggests that plans for the day-night Test are now more serious.

A pink ball will be used - Dukes for two innings and Kookaburra for two innings - and, among the issues assessed, will be the quality of the lighting, the quality of the pitch - current thinking suggests it is necessary to leave a little more grass on the pitch to extend the pink ball's life span which could provide an advantage to the bowlers - and the sightscreens. The quality of public transport options from the stadium are also likely to be assessed in detail before the ECB come to any final decision.

The game, which is against Worcestershire's 2nd XI, was originally scheduled to be held at Barnt Green CC between August 15-17, but will now be staged at Edgbaston between August 22-24.

The MCC has also expressed an interest in hosting the first day-night Test at Lord's, though it may be that their excellent record of ticket sales counts against them. While Lord's could reasonably be expected to sell out for the first three or four days of a West Indies Test, Warwickshire may require the marketing leverage that hosting the first day-night Test in the UK could provide.

It is thought Warwickshire have the full backing of Birmingham City Council - who lent the club around £20m for the redevelopment of Edgbaston - so can expect a sympathetic response to any issues with local resident concerned about late-night noise or issues with congestion.

Warwickshire have not ruled out the possibility of hosting a first-class fixture under lights before the end of this season. They will be reluctant to commit to such an experiment, however, while they are in the running for the County Championship title. Should they fall away in the coming weeks (or clinch the trophy with a game or two to spare), however, they will revisit the idea with the game against Lancashire - starting on September 20 and subject to Lancashire's agreement - a possibility.

"The concept of day-night cricket has attracted a large amount of interest around the world and we are keen to support the ECB by exploring the potential for these fixtures in England and Wales," Neil Snowball, Warwickshire's chief executive, said: "With the quality of facilities that we have here at Edgbaston, we want to explore the concept and moving the 2nd XI match in August is the first step in to looking at whether day/night cricket can form part of our first-class game in the future."

Alan Fordham, the ECB's head of cricket operations, said: "Staging first-class matches under lights with a pink ball is a format which has worked well elsewhere in the cricketing world and it's important we consider ways in which we can attract more people to first-class cricket in the long-term. We'll be monitoring this trial match closely and we would like to thank Warwickshire for their support in hosting the fixture."

Entry to the game is free of charge.