Pink-ball Ashes Test is here to stay, says Cricket Australia

ESPN reports that Cricket Australia's current broadcast deal runs until 2031 and includes one pink-ball test per season. Ashes matches are usually near sellouts, but the day-night fixture attracts incredible in-person attendance and viewership numbers on television.

However, England have not enjoyed their time facing the pink-ball Down Under. The visitors have lost all four day-night Tests by significant margins.

"It's our plan to continue at least one of those in a summer," CA CEO Todd Greenberg told SEN radio.  

"If we need to work with our comrades at the ECB to help them prepare better or have practice matches, we'll do all those sort of things. We'll have that dialogue if and when needed.

"I think the ticket sales send us a very strong message that people will turn up. It's clearly a better time zone for those in England to be able to watch it on broadcast. It's not school holidays at that period of time, so I am hoping that kids and families can finish their days at school and leave work early and be at the ground.

"It's also a bit of a nod to say we're at 150 years of Australia and England Test matches, and we've got to continue to challenge ourselves and evolve.

"I'm not suggesting for one minute that every Test match should be a pink ball game, but pink ball has a place to play in this country. Anyone who is against it just needs to look through the prism of we'll have double the amount of people watching a particular session than we ordinarily do, and you can't turn away from that."

The 150th anniversary Test against England will be played with the pink ball at the MCG next March in front of bumper crowds.