Pink ball is not a great option for Day-Night Test. Australian and New Zealand players are not satisfied as the they pointed out that the visibility of the new pink ball is poor in the dusk and recommended improvement before the next day-night Test.
Australia’s David Warner in Radio interview said, “We’ve got to tinker with that ball a bit more. The only disappointing thing from our point of view is that you’ve got to get the product right and if the product’s not right, it’s hard to go out there and play the game”.
The Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA), which represents seven of the 10 Test playing nations, has stated in its press release that after the first pink ball Day-Night Test at Adelaide Oval, they conducted a survey in which twenty New Zealand and Australian players have participated. Players gave the following feedback after the low scoring Test ended in three days as Australia defeated New Zealand by three wickets.
Here are five problems with pink ball players pointed out
– The pink ball did not show similar signs of wear and tear to the red ball (80%).
– The pink ball swung more than the red ball (80%), especially at night.
– The ball was not easy to see when batting or fielding at dusk (70%), and to a lesser extent at night (50%).
– The day/night conditions affected the length of the match (85%).
– Those who played were generally supportive of experimenting with day/night test matches but were strongly of the view that the ball still requires improvement.
The press release said the biggest area of concern is the seam of the ball. It was green around outside, but the middle of the seam proved hard to disguise at night. In the New Zealand’s second innings and Australia’s chase, it was seen that batsmen were struggling to see the ball. New Zealand suffered a big collapse in their second innings as they batted most of their second innings under the light while Australia suffered a mini collapse while chasing down 187.
Currently, no Day-Night Test is scheduled. Though New Zealand Cricket will likely to play a pink ball in their domestic tournament Plunket Shield under the floodlight in Auckland, Hamilton and Napier on February 20, with a view to staging its first day-night Test against Bangladesh in 2016 December.
FICA head Tony Irish said the Adelaide Oval Test has marked the change in Test cricket.
“It is important to note that the change from the red to pink ball is significant.
“The players still have concerns around the ball itself, and one must take into account that the Adelaide Oval conditions were tailored to suit the pink ball and help it last.
“This led to results that were uncharacteristic for an Adelaide test match. Furthermore, questions also remain as to the suitability of day/night test matches in other parts of the world, where conditions are not as favourable as in Adelaide.”
For a Day-Night Test quality of light and evening dew are the main area of concern. New Zealand Cricket considering three venues for their next Day-Night Test. Auckland’s Eden Park, Hamilton’s Seddon Park and Napier’s McLaen Park as they have established floodlight and warmer climate.
The first Day-Night has enjoyed a roaring success as it witnessed 120,000 spectators at the stands with the first day 50,000 crowd.
“It was good to see so many fans at the Adelaide test match and it was successful as an event, however, the pink ball experiment must be part of a bigger picture, and it alone is not the answer to making test cricket the best it can be,” Tony Irish said.