The good and bad of the pink ball

Quick Single: Lights go on for Bupa Sheffield Shield

While the jury is still out on the pink ball, Shield players have given a cautious thumbs up to day-night cricket.

The new pink pill is the cause of most frustration, with some players saying it gets softer earlier than its red counterpart.

“It feels like a bit of a tennis ball on to the bat,” said South Australian skipper Michael Klinger mid-way through day one at Adelaide Oval.

“It’s a bit softer and guys are probably struggling to hit the ball through the field a little.”

The bowling side’s preference for the older ball was laid bare when South Australia opted not to take the new ball late in the day, instead persisting with two spinners in what would usually be considered ideal fast bowling conditions.

Cricket Australia has been monitoring the condition of the ball in all three games and says it has been similar to the Test-issue red variety.

“We are very happy with how the trial has gone so far,” Sean Cary, CA’s senior manager of Cricket Operations told cricket.com.au.

“The pink ball has shown characteristics as close to the red ball as we could have hoped.

“The overall feedback we've had from players and umpires is that they've been happy with how the ball has performed at each of the three venues, both during the day and under lights.

“We'll continue to gather feedback over the next two days of play and will then undertake a thorough review of the matches to work out next steps.”

New South Wales allrounder Steve O’Keefe was more concerned with the lack of options to replace a damaged ball 60 overs into the Redbacks’ innings.

"The ball that we came back out with would have only been about 20-to-25 overs old, which changed the perspective of the game," he said.

"It was a lot harder, it came onto the bat a lot nicer. It's certainly an issue that has to be looked at to maintain equality in the game.”

Balls aside, the feedback has been positive.

"Other than that, I think it hasn’t been as big a factor as people thought it might be, so in that way I guess it's a positive,” O’Keefe said.

O’Keefe’s thoughts were echoed by Klinger.

“It’s not a whole lot different,” he said.

“Once you’re out there you just see a ball coming at you and try to make good decisions.”

The penultimate round of the Shield season was scheduled as an opportunity to test out the many variables of the shift, especially the new ball, in a highly professional environment, with an eye to gathering as much information as possible.

The trial raises the possibility of day-night Test match cricket in the not-too-distant future, but when quizzed on the prospect, Commonwealth Bank Bushrangers captain Matthew Wade wasn’t getting carried away.

“I think it’s going to take a little bit more time than everyone thinks,” he said.

“You need to get the ball right for one. I think the lights and all the other variables take care of themselves but the ball is a big issue.

“You want it exactly how it is in the red ball game and at the moment, it’s not quite there. But they’re getting there.”

Quick Single: Your Sheffield Shield survival guide

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Pinks balls used at the Adelaide Oval (from left to right D1-16 overs, D1-32 overs, D1-62 overs, D2-19 overs, D2-50 overs and D2-84 overs)

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Pink balls used at the MCG on day one (from left to right 29 overs, 56 overs, 72 overs, 20 overs)

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Pink balls used at the Gabba on day one (from left to right 15 overs, 25.5 overs, 41 overs, 57 overs, 72 overs, 80 overs)

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Pink balls used at the Gabba on day two (from left to right 29 overs, 49 overs, 15 overs, 30 overs, 45 overs, 63 overs)