Hopes of Edgbaston day-night Test dim

The chances of England hosting a floodlit Test have receded sharply with the acceptance that there will be no pink-ball cricket in the final round of the 2016 County Championship season.

While the ECB was hopeful that Edgbaston could stage the first such Test in 2017 - the Test between England and West Indies in August had been identified as the most likely option - they were keen to thoroughly test all aspects of the initiative before committing themselves. In particular, they were keen to assess the deterioration of the pink ball in English conditions.

Initial tests - Warwickshire hosted a Second XI Championship match against their Worcestershire counterparts between August 22-24 - suggested no issues with floodlights, but suggested that the balls deteriorated quite severely with players feeling it was almost impossible to gain swing, either conventional or reverse, after the first dozen or so overs.

It was therefore decided to host another game in similar conditions - but hopefully at a higher standard - before a commitment was made the day-night Test, with the final Championship match of the season between Warwickshire and Lancashire identified as a possible option. But with both teams fighting to avoid relegation, it was decided it would inappropriate to conduct such tests.

Attempts to use a Division Two game were thwarted when local planning issues ruled out the matches at Bristol and Leicester. It is also understood that players were underwhelmed at the prospect of using a pink ball with which they have not have an opportunity to practice. An attempt to persuade them to use a pink ball in normal playing hours and without the use of lights fell on deaf ears.

With tickets for next summer's Tests going on sale in the coming weeks and Neil Snowball, the Warwickshire CEO, having previously confirmed that there would be no change to playing regulations once they had, it now seems highly unlikely that a day-night will be played in England in 2017.

And with India the visitors in high summer of 2018 and Australia in 2019, it seems equally unlikely that such a match will be scheduled in either of those seasons. The time difference in India would not be conducive to the change of playing hours, while there seems little need for any marketing gimmicks during an Ashes series. For the 2017 Test against West Indies, however, it might have proved advantageous to those attempting to sell tickets.

"ECB did consider just using the pink balls for one of the Division Two matches during normal playing times and not under lights," Snowball told ESPNcricinfo. "But it's not happening.

"Despite that, they still remain positive about day-night cricket in England, so we will continue to work together and see what happens."