Why pink ball’s staying
AUSTRALIAN spearhead Mitchell Starc has a love-hate relationship with the pink ball, but it delivers the prime time intrigue and happy endings broadcasters love.
Purists can turn their noses up, but the pink ball delivers results. The five day-night Tests played in Australia and Dubai have all been close affairs where the pink cherry has predominantly prevailed against the willow.
The task will not be any easier for batsmen in the first Ashes Test under lights.
Former Test batsman Callum Ferguson believes the pink Kookaburra ball for summer 2017-18 has a noticeably pronounced seam.
“We certainly thought the seam had a bit more about it. That is not a bad thing, but with the ball constantly changing, the curators have to keep up adjusting it with the amount of grass and hardness of the pitch,” said Ferguson, among the victims in Starc’s first-class, career-best 8-73 for NSW against South Australia last month in Adelaide
Kookaburra maintains the pink ball seam, which was changed from green to black, is largely the same but confirmed an enhanced thread.
“The dimensions of the ball have remained the same and generally its composition has been the same,” Kookaburra’s Shannon Gill said.
“The only slight difference is a marginally stronger seam thread from last summer. It won’t make a difference to the way the ball plays, just something that will help durability.
“The finish was updated to keep its visibility greater for longer.”
Starc maintained his criticism of the pink ball after his exploits in Adelaide, complaining of leather pulling away from the seam and the ball going soft.
Gill notes the pink ball is a work in progress but gaining acceptance in the wider cricket community
“We would expect there will be further improvements in the years ahead, driven from player feedback and then constructed and tested through our research and development department,” he said.
“The challenge with a ball for day-night cricket is that it needs to stay a light colour to be visible under lights.
“Working against that is the lighter the colour the ball is, the dirtier it gets from the general wear and tear of cricket — a light-coloured ball is affected more by that than the traditional red ball.
“This is why the ball has a pink finish on it designed to keep it bright and visible throughout its life.
“It can stay visible under lights while also providing resistance against dirt getting into the leather and making it impossible to see.
“There is nothing major this season that has changed, but we still take constructive feedback from players on board.”
The pink ball has its detractors, with games ending in three days in Adelaide, but many fans prefer actionpacked sessions and momentum swings as opposed to five-day run fests on docile strips.
A triumvirate of sold-out Adelaide pink-ball clashes and viewer friendly session times for northern hemisphere broadcasters means day-night Test cricket is critical to the renewal of the time-honoured game.