Shedding light on the pink ball

While debate continues over the impact a pink ball might have on the way future Test cricket is played, the results of trials conducted in the Australian first-class arena last summer indicate any changes to the game as we know it are likely to be slight.

Cricket Australia Chief Executive Officer James Sutherland and his New Zealand Cricket counterpart David White today confirmed their joint commitment to staging the world’s first day-night Test match during the Black Caps’ tour of Australia in November next year.

Sutherland also confirmed that the venue for that historic event would be either the Adelaide Oval or Blundstone Arena in Hobart.

It’s no secret that the major impediment to Test cricket being played in the evenings in the same way that limited-overs matches have been for almost 40 years is the unsuitability of the traditional red ball for use under harsh artificial lighting.

Even the use of floodlighting during days of heavy cloud cover during Test matches has been problematic because of the way the red ball ‘flares’ – making it appear with a comet-like tail – which renders it difficult for batsmen, fielders, spectators and television viewers to see distinctly.

The white balls used in T20 and 50-over ODIs clearly can’t be used in matches that feature white clothing, and myriad trials have been held over the years to ascertain which alternative colour to the red ball is best suited to day-night matches.

That led to the pink ball being deemed the best option, and even though it has been tried in four-day matches played in the Caribbean, the United Arab Emirates and Australia among other locations there remains concerns over the ball’s durability and behavioural dissimilarities to the traditional red ball.

But those who tell you the introduction of a pink ball will radically overturn almost 140 years of Test cricket history and tradition can take some reassurance from the data collected by Cricket Australia in trials of day-night matches during last summer’s Bupa Sheffield Shield season.

That information – collated from matches played at the MCG, Gabba and Adelaide Oval – showed little discernible difference in a number of key match indicators such as:

•  Average wickets taken per innings (8.17 with the pink ball compared to 2013-14 season average of 8.02 with the red ball)
•  Average total runs per innings (248 with the pink ball compared to 266)
•  Average number of individual centuries per innings (0.25 compared to 0.36)
•  Average number of wickets and overs from pace bowlers per innings (5.25 wickets and 60 overs with the pink ball compared to 5.8 and 60 with the red ball)
•  Average number of wickets and overs from spin bowlers per innings (2.75 wickets from 29 overs with the pink ball compared to 2.14 from 25 overs with the red ball)

The most marked disparity from that trial came in the total number of overs bowled, though the fact that bowlers using the pink ball were forced to toil for an average extra five overs per innings does not indicate wickets and runs were impossible to come by as the ball became older.

As cricket.com.au reported earlier this year, the pink ball trial in the Bupa Sheffield Shield competition was also conducted with a survey of more than 450 players, spectators, umpires, referees and curators to gauge their thoughts on the innovation.

Publicly the response to the pink ball trial was largely positive and spectators in particular rated it favourably, but some players and team officials were privately critical of the extent to which the external condition of the ball deteriorates.

Many were supportive of the concept and claimed visibility of the pink ball under lights was very good, but bemoaned the fact that it stopped swinging after “six to eight overs” and showed no propensity to ‘reverse swing’ once the initial lacquer coat was removed.

Quick Single: Players' verdict on pink balls

There were also reports the pink ball was more likely than its red counterpart to lose its shape as well as its hardness (which meant it was also harder to score from), and that the white seam was difficult to pick up as the ball got dirty.

Some players also called for the use of dark-coloured stitching for the seam as is used on white balls in limited-overs cricket to make it even easier to see (particularly against spin bowlers).

While they were not part of last summer’s trial due to international commitments and injury problems, Australian pace bowlers James Faulkner and James Pattinson today expressed few reservations about the prospect of being involved in a day-night Test match.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s in the day or a day-nighter, it’s a Test match and that’s what all cricketers want to play, so I’m sure it will be a big hit,” Faulkner said.

“I’ve only trained with (pink balls). I didn’t get to play in the Shield games last season when they were used but I’m sure it will work smoothly if it’s run properly.”

Pattinson described the proposed initiative as “exciting” and added: “Cricket is going in different ways now, there’s always new things happening and I think it’s about being adaptable and finding the best way to get through that.

“It’s probably going to be tougher at night seeing the ball, but I think it’s going to be exciting for the crowd.”

Pink ball deterioration

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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)