Western Australia Sam Whiteman slams a century, but says old pink ball can be difficult to see
Mixed review for pink ball, despite ton
The pink ball continues to earn mixed reviews with centurion Sam Whiteman suggesting it became hard to pick up during WA's tour match against New Zealand.
Western Australia's Whiteman scored 117 and stroked 16 boundaries against the Black Caps at the WACA Ground on Saturday.
Despite a productive stint at the crease, Whiteman admitted he struggled to see the ball clearly after the colour started to chip off.
"The ball deteriorates pretty quickly. Towards the end it was almost not really pink - and the square is in pretty good nick," Whiteman said.
"Towards the end it got quite dark and hard to pick up."
Whiteman added fuller deliveries were "tougher to see".
"But once you get set it's like like batting with a red ball," he said.
Quick Single: Whiteman century defies Black Caps
"The boys were saying it was quite tough out there to start under lights, but when you're set it's pretty good to bat."
New Zealand bowling coach Dimitri Mascarenhas was diplomatic when asked about the state of the ball as the innings approached the 80-over mark.
"Pretty good from what I hear. The boys haven't said anything bad about it at all," Mascarenhas said.
"From my point of view, I saw it beautifully the whole day."
Mascarenhas suggested the only major difference to the red ball was that "in the middle session it won't swing as much as the red ball usually can".
Dusk is meant to be the most difficult time to face the pink ball due to the combination of natural and artificial light.
Whiteman felt New Zealand did his side a favour after the dinner break by using tweakers Mark Craig and Mitchell Santner in tandem.
"If they'd bowled a few seamers I think it would've been tough, with the shadow across the wicket and the lights just kicked in."
New Zealand inflicted a late collapse of 5-21 with the second new ball, which swung considerably more than the first.
Darren Lehmann is confident Australian fans and players will make the inaugural day-night Test, which starts on Friday at Adelaide Oval, a success.