Shane Pollock, former all-rounder of South African cricket, has urged teams to use pink balls in test matches where poor light can be problematic. This request comes as the Proteas are facing a significant challenge on the final day of the test match in Durban against Australia, a match that has been halted due to poor light.
Challenge Against Australia
In the first game of the crucial three-match series, the Proteas are chasing 421 runs with a score of 102/4. In the first three days of this match, play has been halted due to poor light, causing both teams to lose key playing time. Only 221 of the 270 allocated overs were completed before the start of the fourth day, while play continued on Monday, and the cloud cover that was present in the afternoon dissipated.
Proposal to Use Pink Balls
Recently, as part of the playing conditions, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has allowed the use of pink balls in day test matches with the agreement of both captains. In a statement issued by the ICC, it was stated: "As an experiment, pink balls can be used in day tests with mutual agreement to reduce the loss of play due to poor light. The use of the pink ball must be agreed upon before the start of the match and, once agreed, must be valid for the duration of the match. Changing from a red ball to a pink ball is also not allowed after the match has started."
Pollock pointed out that captains should not be afraid to use the pink ball, stating: "I'm not saying we should have used the pink ball and had a day-night match. I just think the pink ball should have been used for the day game." He added: "This is not irrelevant because if you use the red ball, suddenly you can't continue the game after poor light, but if you use the pink ball, you can. And we are going to lose a few more overs."
Currently, Aiden Markram (45*) and Vian Mulder (5*) are trying to recover. Australia, batting first, scored 390 runs, largely due to a long innings from Matt Morris with 190 runs off 397 balls. The Proteas scored 284 runs in their second innings, while Australia declared at 314/6 in their second innings, setting a target of 421 runs for victory with the aggressive performance of their players.
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