Sri Lanka is set to host its first ball pink-ball match when Sri Lanka A takes on West Indies A in a four-day encounter at the R Premadasa stadium in Colombo, starting on Tuesday (October 4).

"We have been lagging behind other countries in experimenting with the pink ball, but a start had to be made somewhere," noted K Mathivanan, vice-president of Sri Lanka Cricket. "With the ICC planning to introduce day-night Test cricket in the near future we should be prepared to face the changes and not lag behind."

In the recent past, cricketers have voiced their concerns about the durability of the pink ball. Dimuth Karunaratne, Sri Lanka A's captain, however, reckoned that the pink ball doesn't behave differently when compared with the red one.

"We have had few practice sessions with the pink ball and found it very much similar to the red ball," he said. "But with use, pink ball gets a bit strange and the colour fades."

West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) experimented with the pink ball for the first time in January 2010 when Guyana played Trinidad and Tobago in the four-day regional competition. Since then, quite a few day-night four-day games have been played in the Caribbean.

Shamarh Brooks, the West Indies A skipper, though pointed out that the pink ball used in Sri Lanka are brighter in colour. "The balls we use in the Caribbean are a bit light in colour, these balls are brighter."

West Indies are scheduled to play three four-day matches and three 50-over games during their month-long tour.

(Cricbuzz)