England pull out of day-night Ashes fixture

The highly-anticipated Pink ball Test will no longer form part of any future Ashes series following negotiations between Australia and England. 

According to the guidelines set by the International Cricket Council (ICC) regarding their Future Tours Programme, both countries have to unanimously agree on having a day-night Test match in their series’ schedule. Based on the reports, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have been against the idea of having it in future series, believing that the highly reputed Ashes does not need them anymore.

The day-night Test matches were first introduced in 2015 as a way to attract more crowds into the stadium to watch the longest format of the game. The very first pink ball Test match was played between Australia and New Zealand back in 2015 at the Adelaide Oval, which Australia won.

However, based on the high attendance figures recorded in the recently concluded Ashes series, it is safe to assume that it does not need any gimmicks to pull the crowd in. According to the official figures, as many as 859,580 people walked in through the turnstiles to witness Australia regain the Ashes by beating England 4-1.

Australia and England are set to play one last day-night Test match

Australia and England played one pink ball Test in the Ashes back in December at the iconic Gabba in Brisbane, with the hosts securing a comfortable nine-wicket victory after needing just 65 to win in the second innings.

Despite the call being taken to stop playing Test matches in the evening, both England and Australia are set to play each other in one final day-night Test, as they will go head-to-head in a one-off pink ball affair in March 2027 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Test cricket at the historic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

England have competed in four day-night Test matches and only one at home, back in 2017. Australia, on the other hand, have played 15 pink-ball Tests, with 14 of those at home.