IPL stars to trial pink balls

Lord's normally hosts the domestic season curtain-raiser, but this season it will be in Abu Dhabi under lights with a pink ball

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The MCC is this week set to pick the brains of some of the world’s best players on the feasibility of pink-ball cricket.

MCC representative Fraser Stewart is being dispatched to gauge the reaction of the likes of India superstars Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag after they have used pink balls in net practice.

Tradition will be broken at the end of this month when the domestic season curtain-raiser between the MCC and champion county Durham takes place under lights with a pink ball - and in the United Arab Emirates, rather than at Lord’s.

Players from three Indian Premier League franchises – Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Daredevils – have agreed to test pink balls in the nets as they prepare for this year’s tournament.

Stewart, the MCC’s Laws and universities manager, will supervise proceedings - in which around 150 pink Dukes, Kookaburra and SG balls from nought to 15 overs old will be used.

“The Indian Premier League has embraced the concept of trialling the pink cricket ball and kindly agreed to test them in their practice sessions for MCC,” said Stewart.

The MCC’s fixture against Durham is the next step towards discovering whether pink balls may be used for future Test matches.

Stewart added: “The feedback we’ll get from these elite players will be invaluable to us in our research and potentially extremely important for the future of Test match cricket, as pink balls could be the factor required to play day/night Tests.”