Pink Ball in Cricket — Day-Night Tests and How It Differs from Red and White

The pink cricket ball was introduced to enable day-night Test matches — allowing play under artificial lights while maintaining the integrity of the red-ball Test format. The first day-night Test was played in Adelaide in November 2015 between Australia and New Zealand. The pink ball has a different coating from the traditional red ball, producing different swing and seam characteristics.

Why Pink?

Red balls (traditional) are hard to see under floodlights — they blend with the dark sky and the soil of the pitch in evening conditions. White balls (used in ODIs and T20s) are used in daylight and under lights but lack the seam durability needed for five-day Test cricket. The pink ball retains the hard seam and lacquer of the red ball while being visible under artificial light. Green lighting from the outfield can sometimes make pink balls look orange — the exact shade of pink is carefully calibrated for visibility.

Pink Ball vs Red Ball Behaviour

The pink ball behaves differently in several important ways: It swings more in the early overs — the lacquer is different and produces more pronounced outswing. It deteriorates faster — the coating wears more quickly than red-ball lacquer, particularly in warm or humid conditions. It is harder to reverse swing — because it deteriorates differently, the classic reverse swing window (40-60 overs with the old ball) is less predictable. Spinners find the pink ball harder to grip — the lacquer resists finger-spin more than a worn red ball.

Day-Night Test Format

Day-night Tests typically start at 14:00 or 14:30 local time (rather than 11:00) and end around 21:30. This allows office workers to attend or watch the evening session (roughly 18:00-21:30), increasing attendance and viewership. The scheduling also places the 'twilight period' — when the ball is hardest to see as the sun sets but artificial lights are not yet fully effective — in the middle of a session rather than at the start of play.