English day-night Test in 2017 remains possible

The ECB has not given up plans of hosting the first day-night Test in England in 2017.

While plans to host Warwickshire's final Championship match of the season against Lancashire at Edgbaston under lights have now been shelved - both clubs remain in danger of relegation from Division One and are unwilling to add an element of experimentation into such an important fixture - ESPNcricinfo understands that fixtures in Division Two will be considered instead.

Matches at Leicestershire (who host Glamorgan) and Gloucestershire (who host Sussex) from September 20 are deemed especially suitable, with none of the clubs involved in the promotion challenge. All the clubs involved would have to agree before it is confirmed that the match could be held under lights. ESPNcricinfo understands that Leicestershire may be precluded from using their lights for the fixture due to planning restrictions.

While sitting outside in the evening in late September might not be hugely attractive to spectators, the ECB feel it is necessary to conduct further tests - not least into the deterioration of the pink ball used in day-night Test cricket - before making a final decision as to whether a floodlit Test could be played in England next year.

Edgbaston remains the target venue for the first floodlit Test in England with West Indies the opponents identified. That Test is due to start on August 17. Warwickshire has already hosted a 2nd XI fixture under lights at Edgbaston.

"Tickets for that game go on sale in mid-October," Neil Snowball, the Warwickshire CEO, told ESPNcricinfo. "So we really need to have made a decision before then so people know what they are going to be watching.

"I went into that Second XI match open-minded and came out of it very positive about day-night cricket. We would like to make it work and I think the ECB would, too, but we would need to come to a conclusion within the next few weeks."

Andrew Strauss, the director of England cricket, remains a supporter of pushing the day-night concept forward after the inaugural floodlit match in Adelaide last year.

"We are looking at it from a sample size of one at the moment but on reflection that seemed like a good match for Test cricket," he said. "The question will always be: is that something we can and should replicate in this country, are there other things we can do? What I don't want us to do is stick our head in the sand and pretend everything will be okay. There will always be people who will saying everything is fine and dandy as it stands, but with the shifting sands of international cricket we need to be proactive rather than reactive."

There remains a chance that one of the Ashes Tests in 2017-18 could be played under lights - Australia have day-night Tests against South Africa and Pakistan in their coming season - and while Strauss said he would ideally want England to play one before an Ashes campaign he would still be open to the idea regardless.

"Where I am generally with day-night cricket is that I don't want to let performance get in the way of taking Test cricket forward, so if Australia want us to play a day-night Test then I think myself, our coaches and players are comfortable with that as a concept. What we'd need to be clear on is how we prepare ourselves properly for that. We'd want to give ourselves the best chance of winning an Ashes series in Australia."

Should the plans for shelved for 2017, it seems unlikely England or Wales would host a day-night Test before the 2020 season. The tourists in high-summer of 2018 are India, where broadcast times would not be suited to later start times, while Australia return in 2019 with little need for any novelty value to assist with ticket sales.