Pink is just a colour but it's the attitude the Central Districts Stags take to the historic final session under floodlights for the next four days from today that will separate the boys from the men.
Round seven of Plunket Shield cricket will be played with the pink ball for the first time in the history's format in domestic cricket and CD captain William Young said none of his players had ever experienced the ball already tested in test matches or played the red-ball format under floodlights.
Young said the Heinrich Malan-coached side had arrived in Hamilton on Saturday and were training for the occasion, including one up to 9pm yesterday to see how much they had to adapt to variables in their match against the Northern District Knights at Seddon Park.
"It was a little hard to pick up at a length but after a while you get used to it," says Young after day training sessions.
He likened the ball more to a white one where it did quite a bit, including in the air, initially but whether it allowed for reverse swing after scuffing remained to be seen although it didn't appear to be conducive to shining on one side.