James Anderson says that England asked the Proteas for advice regarding pink-ball cricket. 

England’s premier fast bowler revealed that he and his teammates probed Faf du Plessis and his men on the experience of playing with the pink ball.

South Africa visited Australia in 2016, which ended as a 2-1 series win for the visitors. They played their first pink-ball Test in Adelaide in the final Test.

‘We spoke to the South Africans when we played them in our summer [this year], and they said it was difficult in the twilight period and when the lights came on,’ Anderson told Sport24.

‘So we tried to tap into them for as much information as we could. We’ve played one pink-ball Test match in England, but not with the Kookaburra, so having the chance to come over here and practice with that, and play a first-class game is important for us.

‘I guess that’s part of the game, trying to find out if the ball does swing and especially what time of day it does it, so it’s really useful practice for us. Especially playing at Adelaide, where the Test match is going to be. I’ve heard that it does swing a bit more, the pink Kookaburra, which is good for all the bowlers, to be honest.’

Anderson believes that day-night cricket can grow the game.

‘The game I played in England and a couple of Test matches at the Adelaide Oval, the actual spectacle looks fantastic, especially when you get a full crowd. We’ve got practice tomorrow and then obviously the game is a first-class game, so we want to perform well, but also see which stages of the game are important in [the way the ball behaves].’

England will take on Australia in a day-night second Test on 2 December in Adelaide after the first Test in Brisbane, which starts on 23 November in Brisbane.

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