An ICC decision to use pink balls to extend play in the case of bad light will add more intrigue to the first Test between South Africa and Australia in September. The clash is scheduled for Durban where, over the years, play has been routinely interrupted by the weather. The ICC announced on Monday that a trial would be introduced in which the red ball could be swapped for a pink ball in the case of bad light. There have been 29 day/night Tests (25 men’s and four women’s) in which the pink ball has been used throughout. The majority of those matches have been in Australia — 18 — and South Africa has hosted just one: in Gqeberha against Zimbabwe in 2017. According to the ICC, both teams would have to agree before the match for balls to be changed. “In principle, I like the call to rather play more cricket than not play more cricket because I think there’ve been too many easy excuses made not to play. You’ve got spectators who’ve paid to watch 90 overs of cricket (in a day) and they don’t get that, and if this allows that to happen, then that’s great,” said former Proteas Test opener Stephen Cook. However, Cook, who played in one of only two pink-ball Tests featuring South Africa, did wonder if it was the most important matter for the five-day format. “If I had to list 10 things about Test cricket that had to be solved, I don’t think this would be among them — but there were smart people making these decisions, so let’s see.” Cook played in the Adelaide Test in 2016, then only the third to be held as a day/night five-day match, scoring 40 in the first innings and 104 in the second, when he batted under lights for a large portion of his stay at the crease. “It was an amazing experience. In our warm-up match before, I did wonder if I would see the ball. It helped that in that second innings I was in, I was on about 50 when the lights came on, so that made it much easier. It is very hard if you’re coming in to bat, playing against the pink under lights.”The ICC proposal is different in that the ball would have to be switched. “The pink ball under lights does behave a little differently; it also ages differently to a red ball. You could have a scenario where a team is 200/2, bad light comes in, the pink ball comes out and suddenly it starts swinging around corners. I’m not sure if they’ve improved the technology since I played, but if they have, then maybe this could work.”2026/27 HOME SEASON FIXTURE ANNNOUNCEMENT 🚨 Cricket South Africa (CSA) has today revealed the Proteas Men’s international fixtures for the 2026/27 home season, with Test cricket and One-Internationals (ODIs) headlining a busy summer against Australia, Bangladesh and England.… pic.twitter.com/jgFkQMHTVq— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) February 23, 2026