English County Championship gears up for  day-night games

(Reuters) – Nine day-night English County Championship matches started yesterday in a bid to help England players adapt to the conditions ahead of their first floodlit test match against West Indies in August. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) approved in November for a round of four-day Championship fixtures to be played on a day-night basis, using pink balls with black seams.

The ECB is hoping the new format becomes a regular feature of the English domestic calendar.

Australia have hosted three day-night tests and the other pink-ball test match was Pakistan v West Indies in Dubai. England are due to play a day-night test in Adelaide in December as part of the 2017-18 Ashes series against Australia.