South Africa-New Zealand Day-Night Test Unlikely in 2017
There was hope New Zealand could stage the country's first floodlit Test against South Africa in February or March 2017 - most likely in Hamilton.
New Zealand's hope of playing a day-night cricket Test against South Africa in early 2017 has faded after the scrapping of a scheduled round of pink ball trial matches next month in New Zealand's domestic first-class competition. (Read more Cricket news here)
The attempt to play a round of day-night matches in the four-day Plunket Shield competition was shelved Thursday because lighting at one of the stadiums - McLean Park in Napier - was inadequate for the pink ball.
New Zealand Cricket's head of cricket operations, Lindsay Crocker, told representatives of the first-class teams in a teleconference that the day-night Test against South Africa was now unlikely to go ahead.
"My gut is that (South Africa) might be a bit early for us," Crocker said.
Australia won the first ever day-night Test by three wickets against New Zealand in November last year.
The match was over inside three days, which hasn't happened in an Adelaide Oval Test since 1951 and which highlighted the differences of using the pink ball and playing under lights in the longest form of the game.