BRISBANE won’t be tickled pink with fresh news that its bid for a historic day-night cricket Test is in danger of being shot down by South Africa.

In an exclusive interview with The Courier-Mail, Cricket South Africa boss Haroon Lorgat refused to commit to playing in a pink ball Test at the Gabba next summer.

Lorgat, a former boss of the International Cricket Council, indicated he had an “open mind’’ on the pink ball concept but was undecided whether the Proteas would participate.

Australia sealed the deal with New Zealand last summer by putting up a $1 million sweetener to get the teams across the line, with the cash split 60:40 or 50:50 if there was a draw.

However given the success of the Adelaide pink ball Test, there was a feeling that a financial incentive may not be needed for future day-night tests.

Lorgat point-blank refused to divulge whether a payment would be needed to get the Proteas to play a pink ball Test at the Gabba.

But given the wretched state of the Rand, and South Africa’s hesitation to commit to the pink-ball Test, it appears there are some tough financial negotiations ahead for Cricket Australia.

The Gabba Test will go ahead but there are no guarantees it will be Brisbane’s first Test under lights.

‘’At the moment, we certainly cannot commit to playing in the pink ball Test,’’ Lorgat told The Courier-Mail, from South Africa.

‘’It is certainly not over the line that we would agree to play in the (pink ball) Test.

‘’We have an open mind about the pink ball.

‘’But there are plenty of things we need to explore and work though, including seeing if our own players will agree to play in it.

‘’It is way too early to commit to anything.’’

The development comes on the verge of a day-night, pink ball Sheffield Shield round in which the Queensland Bulls will take on Tasmania at the Gabba starting on Sunday.

The primary reason for CA scheduling the day-night Shield round is so the new Gabba lights can be properly road-tested, along with the new pink ball, leaving officials better placed to make a decision on whether Brisbane is an appropriate day-night candidate.

Pakistan is almost certainly locked in for another pink-ball Adelaide spectacular in the second half of the summer but the Gabba’s pink ball plans are in limbo.

Another reason South Africa may struggle to embrace the pink ball is because lighting at most of their home Test venues is insufficient to host a day-night Test. It would also be problematic at South African coastal venues because of dew.

‘’We would need to upgrade our lights and that comes at a cost. We haven’t budgeted anything for that yet,’’ Lorgat said.

Lorgat also revealed South Africa was keen to play four Tests, rather than three, in Australia next summer. However they may be prepared to bend and play three due to scheduling constraints.

‘’We would certainly want four (Tests) but scheduling is a bit of an issue so we may agree to three,’’ Lorgat said.