Alison Mitchell
Looks ahead to next week’s day-night Test in Adelaide
Kookaburra executives will be watching particularly keenly to see how their pink ball performs at this week’s day-night Test in Adelaide, given there is now a competitor in the market. So far, floodlit Test cricket has only been staged twice, and pink Kookaburra balls were used in both matches; first, in Adelaide 12 months ago, then in Dubai in October. A pink Dukes, however, has been confirmed as the ball of choice for the MCC’s Champion County match in the UAE next March, followed by England’s first floodlit Test at Edgbaston in August. The pink Dukes was trialled alongside the pink Kookaburra in a 2nd XI county match at Edgbaston between Warwickshire and Worcestershire, and it was Dukes which subsequently got the nod from the ECB.
The difference between the balls was not huge, but given that red Dukes are used in the County Championship, their pink ball started a fraction ahead of Kookaburra in the preferential stakes, and the players were happy with it.
The Kookaburra to be used in Adelaide next week has been modified slightly from that which was used 12 months ago. Back then there was some dissatisfaction as to the visibility of the ball and how well batsmen were picking up the dark green and white seam. To that end, Kookaburra have changed the colour of the seam to black, and sprayed an extra layer of pink finish on top of their bright pink, mysteriously named ‘G7 finish’ (so let’s call the new version ‘G8’). The final coat on the ball is a hard, nitro cellulose lacquer. The seam colour won’t make a difference to the behaviour of the ball. The extra layer of finish beneath the lacquer is said by Kookaburra to give the ball a shinier appearance. It also means the ball should resist wear better and keep its brightness and visibility for longer,
although nothing can prevent grass or dirt from discolouring and staining the pink surface once the game gets going.
A pink Kookaburra should never be expected to feel or behave exactly the same as the red. This is because leather for the red Kookaburra is drum-dyed red before being coated in lacquer, whereas leather for a pink ball is dyed pink but then, before the final lacquer is applied, it needs to be spray coated with layers of bright pink pigment to achieve the desired visibility against the night sky.With the red ball, once the lacquer wears off, the grain surface of the leather is exposed and the leather’s natural fats enable shine when a player rubs the ball against his or her trouser to create heat through friction.With the pink ball, the layers of pigment and Kookaburra’s finish form a barrier to the natural grain surface, which means polishing the ball is like trying to polish plastic. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it’s just different from the properties of the red ball and cricketers will need to adapt their skills to best bowl with it.
If the pink ball maintains its visibility and quality beyond 80 overs, if a competitive balance between bat and ball can be achieved, and bigger crowds turn out, then day-night Test cricket has a future. The most important factor to consider going forwards will be the location and climate in which floodlit Tests are played. Ticket pricing has to be right too. The biggest problem in Dubai was the fact that a heavy dew came down in the evenings and the ball became soft and swollen. Any cricket ball would struggle in those conditions. The crowd was disappointing, which may have been due to the ground being in the middle of nowhere. Adelaide certainly benefits from its city location, and it is hoped Edgbaston will be similarly well supported come August 2017. It might just be a bit chilly.