Voges admits to pink ball concerns

It shone, it swung (fleetingly) and it could be seen by batters, bowlers and spectators alike, but all is not completely rosy for the pink ball barely a month out from its much-awaited debut in cricket’s inaugural day-night Test match.

The main talking point in the aftermath of New Zealand’s 102-run win over a Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra last night was the condition of the balls used in the 50-over fixture which prompted concern among both teams as to how it might withstand the required 80 overs in the Test arena.

WATCH: Voges admits concerns over pink ball

Australia batsman and veteran Western Australia skipper Adam Voges expressed publicly what players and match officials discussed privately when he revealed that the pink balls used at Manuka Oval “got pretty chewed” once the exterior lacquer coating was worn off.

Only once during the 95.2 overs bowled yesterday did the ball, which has been the subject of four years of work by manufacturers Kookaburra in concert with Cricket Australia to ensure it’s suitable for Test conditions, need to be replaced.

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And that was when big-hitting Black Caps opener Martin Guptill launched PM’s XI spinner Ashton Agar over mid-wicket and on to the roof of Manuka’s Bob Hawke Stand from where it could not be retrieved.

But Voges claimed that although the ball was less than 30 overs old at that stage it was in poor condition, and the one used by New Zealand in dismissing the PM’s XI in 45.2 overs under lights did not fare much better.

“I don’t know if you guys got to see it but there wasn’t much pink left on it at the end of the game,” Voges told reporters after the match when asked how the pink ball had withstood its first international outing.

“The one that got hit on the roof and didn’t come back was 28 overs old and it looked like it was 68 overs old.

“To be honest it didn’t hold up very well at all tonight.

“It looked as though the lacquer had come off and it was turning green basically.

“There were bits of pink left, but it was probably more green than pink at the end.

“It stopped swinging, and there was no reverse swing because both sides (of the ball) got chunked up equally.”

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Black Caps opener Tom Latham, named player of the match for his 131 and his opening stand of 196 with Guptill, also commented on the condition of the ball which he claimed was the major revelation for his team who first used it at a training session in New Zealand earlier this month.

“We had a couple of days last week in Hamilton to get used to it, and it probably showed here today that the ball deteriorates a little bit more than what we’ve seen,” Latham said.

“That’s one thing we’ll probably take from it (the PM’s XI match).

“It probably swung a bit for five overs, and then it didn’t swing after that.

“So if we can keep that ball in good nick then hopefully that will be one of our weapons with reverse swing.”

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With the landmark first day-night Test at Adelaide Oval just 34 days away, it is understood Cricket Australia have taken the balls used in last night’s fixture back to Melbourne to examine the level of deterioration it underwent in the course of 50 overs.

Exhaustive testing has been carried out on the pink ball in the course of its development in recent years, and balls used in rounds of day-night Bupa Sheffield Shield games over the previous two seasons have held up much better than the ones used in Canberra last night.

That may be due to a number of reasons, such as the nature of one-day cricket compared to its five-day cousin with bowlers banging the ball harder into the pitch, fielders hurling throws at the stumps and the knowledge that a softer, scuffed-up ball is often more difficult to score from.

In addition, the characteristic of the slow, flat Manuka pitch prepared for a 50-over game early in the season would differ from a Test strip that would carry more grass and additional moisture in order to hold together across five days of heavy traffic.

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However, the heavy scarring inflicted on both balls in yesterday’s game will likely raise concerns about the suitability of the pink ball’s capacity to withstand the 80 overs required of a Test match ball, especially given the global attention that will be focused on the Adelaide Test that starts on November 27.

Voges also pointed out that the ball used by the PM’s XI when they bowled first at Manuka Oval yesterday afternoon barely swung at all even when it was new, while NZ’s opening bowlers Tim Southee and Trent Boult were able to gain movement for the first 10 overs or so.

“Under lights the ball certainly swung for a lot longer, we didn’t really swing it at all barring one or two balls during the day,” Voges said.

“There’s no doubt that their (NZ’s) ball swung for longer.

“(PM’s XI opening bowler) Jason Behrendorff swung a few for us during the day but not many, and I’ve seen him bowl a lot and he generally swings the ball a fair bit.

“I’ve got no doubt that under the lights the ball probably kept its condition a little bit better for a little bit longer, but after 10 overs in our innings that swing had gone too.”

The next outing for the pink ball will be the round of four-day Sheffield Shield matches to be played concurrently in Adelaide, Hobart and Melbourne next week, which will be the final chance to gauge its longevity before the Test match next month.