The ball will be different for the second Ashes Test and England will be hoping the result will be too.
After capitulating to the Red Kookaburras in Perth in the series opener, Ben Stokes’ side now play Australia in a pink-ball game at The Gabba in Brisbane from Thursday.
Ahead of that clash, which kicks off at 4am UK time, we look at the key issues surrounding the day-night Tests and why the stats suggest England have their work cut out for them…
What is the point of day-night test cricket?
The idea is, or was, to attract as many audiences as possible to the longest form of the game, mostly in places where numbers have fallen.
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England’s all-time top scorer Joe Root says he is confident he will rediscover his touch, as he questions the need for a pink-ball Ashes Test
It’s fair to debate whether a Test in the Ashes – hardly a series lacking in gravitas – needs a pink-ball game, and England’s Joe Root says it doesn’t.
ski sports Michael Atherton isn’t a fan either, although he accepts that day-night has become a key part of Australian summers.
This game does add another smidgen of intrigue to an already headline-grabbing contest and it’s a game England could really do with a win after their implosion in Perth left them 1-0 down in the five-match series.
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Sky Sports’ Michael Atherton says England must bounce back in the second Ashes Test or the series is essentially over
How did England fare in the Pink Ball Tests?
It’s not great.
They won their first (defeating the West Indies by an innings and 209 runs at Edgbaston in August 2017 after taking 19 wickets on the third day) and their last (beating New Zealand by 267 runs at Tauranga in February 2023), but in between those huge wins, they suffered three successive defeats against Australia.
Ollie Robinson is bowled by Pat Cummins in the final Ashes Test of the 2021/22 series in Hobart as the hosts secure a 4-0 series win
England were beaten in Adelaide in 2017 and 2021, while in their last match of the previous Ashes away series four years ago they went down by 146 runs in Hobart – defeat sealed when Ollie Robinson was bowled by Pat Cummins who backed so far he was barely on the cut strip.
England’s other two pink-ball knocks came against India in Ahmedabad in February 2021 (they opted for a tough attack and lost 19 wickets to lose within two days) and against New Zealand in Auckland in March 2018 when an innings run included them being involved in their first dig for 58. They were 27-9 at one point.
What about Australia at night?
The Aussies defeated the West Indies by 27 in their last night Test, in Jamaica in July
These guys are wizards with pink balls. Australia have won 13 of 14 day-night Tests, with the only blemish at home in the West Indies in January 2024 when Shamar Joseph humbled them. The fact that the Aussie defeat came at The Gabba – home to this Ashes pink player – might give England a modicum of comfort.
However, with Australia far more experienced in the format and England having not played a pink-ball Test for three years, home player Marnus Labuschagne believes his side probably have the upper hand.
Labusanj, who averages 63.86 on the night, said: “It has become something that Australia have been very good at. Over time we have learned different moments of the game and how to play them. Hopefully that can be an advantage for us in this game.”
How do conditions affect cricket?
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Atherton and fellow Ski Sports expert Nasser Hussain discuss what the key differences will be with the pink ball
Passing pink ball tests can be dominant in pitching with a ball that often spins around under the lights and during that twilight period (when floodlights take over instead of natural light).
With this match in Brisbane kicking off at 2pm local time, the sun will set in the second session, ensuring a pretty half-and-half between day and night.
“Win the toss and the bat” is the advice of former England seamer Stuart Broad, allowing the best conditions before the bowlers take over later, with Ski Sports expert Michael Atherton says he wouldn’t be surprised to see pinch catchers used in strong hitting conditions.
Travis Head opened for Australia in their second innings in Perth, hitting a 69-ball hundred – the second-fastest in Ashes history – before finishing with 123 off 83 deliveries, in an innings that featured 16 fours and four sixes.
Australia must be tempted to put their heads on top again, especially in a game where quick runs can be crucial.
Which players played in pink ball tests?
Australia’s Mitchell Starc took a leading 81 wickets during the day and night
Australian quick Mitchell Starc leads the pack when it comes to pink-ball Tests with 81 wickets in 14 games at an average of 17.08, including 6-9 in 7.3 overs in his previous overnight outing in the Caribbean in July, when West Indies were torpedoed for 27.
Labuschran said of Starc: “Is he the best pink-ball bowler in the world? I think the stats probably say that. I think it’s the combination of being left-handed, swinging with a lot of rhythm and the late swing that makes him so dangerous. Combine that with the pink ball, which swings later and is increasingly inconsistent, and it’s hard to put.”
Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon has the joint-second most wickets in pink-ball Tests – his 43 scalps matching the still absent Pat Cummins – so will those stats convince England to play a spinner after opting for an all-out front-line attack in Perth?
Shoaib Bashir or all-rounder Will Jacks are the slow bowling options and Jacks selection would also strengthen the lower order batting.
The leading scorer in pink ball Tests is Labuschand with 958 in nine games including four hundreds and four fifties. Team-mate Steve Smith has 815 in 13 matches, while Head is fourth on the list with 719 in 10, behind the now-retired David Warner (753 in nine). Root is England’s leading scorer with the pink ball (501 in seven games).
Marnus Labushan scored over 900 runs in day-night Tests
Is lunch taken? What about tea?
The structure of the sessions will remain the same as a normal Test match with a 40-minute interval after the first two hours followed by a 20-minute break after the next two hours. The only difference is that instead of lunch and tea break, there will be dinner and tea.
Finally, what was Steve Smith wearing under his eyes?
Ah, you noticed the ‘black eyes’.
Australia’s Steve Smith wore a “black eye” in training ahead of the pink-ball Ashes Test
Those strips, which Smith hit into the nets ahead of this game, are designed to reduce glare.
Former West Indies player Shivnarin Chanderpaul wore them regularly during his playing days, while Smith tried them out ahead of a potential batting session under the lights in Brisbane.
Speaking to the media, Labuschagne said of Smith judging ‘black eyes’: “There has to be some kind of science or theory to it.
“I look at it either way: whether there’s science behind it or whether it’s a placebo. If it feels like it’s working, either way, it’s working.
“I would love nothing more than to see him walking around with the Shivnarins and hitting them all over the place.”
Ashes series in Australia 2025-26
All times Great Britain and Ireland
- First Test (Perth – November 21-25): Australia beat England by eight wickets
- Second test (day/night): Thursday 4 December – Monday 8 December (4am) – The Gabba, Brisbane
- Third test: Wednesday 17 December – Sunday 21 December (11.30pm) – Oval Adelaide
- Fourth test: Thursday 25 December – Monday 29 December (11.30pm) – Melbourne Cricket Ground
- Fifth test: Sunday 4 January – Thursday 8 January (11.30pm) – Sydney Cricket Ground