Mixed reviews on cricket's pink ball ahead of world-first day/night Test
Xinhua, October 29, 2015 Adjust font size:
Australians in the mix for Test cricket selection have offered mixed reviews on a controversial pink ball set to be used in the world-first day/night Test match in Adelaide next month.
Trialed in the Sheffield Shield domestic competition this week, Australia's captain Steve Smith has praised the pink ball, while others in the mix for selection have said it deteriorates at an alarming rate.
The world-first twilight Test - to be played in by Australia and New Zealand in Adelaide from November 13 - was thrown into doubt earlier this week, when the player's association warned the pink ball could prove dangerous in the field.
On Monday, president of the Australian Cricketer's Association, Greg Dyer said feedback from the first round of the Sheffield Shield would be decisive in whether or not the Adelaide Test would be altered.
The pink balls received mixed reviews after day one of the trial round on Thursday, with Tasmanian paceman Jackson Bird and Victorian quick John Hastings both holding reservations about the ball's performance.
Bird said a period before teams could take the new ball was "the hardest time to see the ball", telling the Cricket Australia website on Thursday that he lost it in the field a few times.
"It was really tough (to see) when the ball got old and around that 60-over mark when it was getting dark and the ball was getting old that was the hardest time to field," Bird said.
"There was definitely a few times where I didn't see the ball at all.
"But saying that, the second new ball at night, that was perfect, you could see that fine.
"It's that period before and after dinner, just before the ball is about to get changed and it's just getting dark and the lights are coming on, that's the hardest time to see the ball."
Hastings said altering the rules to allow a change of balls at 50 overs could limit the poor visibility and mitigate the issue of the ball softening too early.
"The main issue for me is the hardness of the ball - it just doesn't stack up to the red ball," Hastings told Cricket Australia.
"Maybe if we change the ball at 50-55 overs or get a new one - or a semi-new one - it might be a better contest towards the end."
However Australian skipper Steve Smith said the ball performed a lot better than initial tests on the traditionally-abrasive wicket in Canberra.
"It looked like it held together quite well throughout the day, probably a lot better than it did on the more abrasive surface of Canberra, so that is I guess good signs," Smith said.
The Test series between Australia and New Zealand begins in Brisbane on November 5. Endi