Red ,White or Pink ball

A pink cricket ball was used for the first time in a match in England

A fluorescent ball could be adopted for one-day county cricket by 2009, and then across the international game.

The red ball lasts much longer, so the pink ball will not be used for Tests and four-day county games.

"It's about the quality of the ball and the fact the white one doesn't last 50 overs," a spokesman for the game's lawmakers, the MCC, told BBC Sport.

But there is also the visibility factor to consider - white balls can be notoriously difficult for fielders and batsmen to see in certain light conditions.

Mike Gatting, the ECB's managing director of cricket partnerships, said: "We have tried white and orange balls and perhaps pink ones will last longer. This is a very interesting and a very wise development."

Traditional red balls used for Test and first-class cricket can last 80 overs before being replaced.

However, in one-day internationals a mandatory ball change is now enforced after 34 overs because the white titanium dioxide dye rubs off the leather.

Kookaburra, the Australian manufacturer charged with making the existing white balls, are also producing the pink ones to be used in the trial.