It’s the pink ball blues for day-night cricket

SIR – I don’t know what it was like for the spectators at Edgbaston, but watching the game on television, I had difficulty seeing the ball, especially when the sun was behind the bowler’s arm or when there was cloud cover.

The spectators did not seem to think much of Test cricket under lights. They left the ground in droves after sundown.

Charlton Adam, Somerset

SIR – The use of pink for day-night cricket has been the result of many years of trials with the companies that provide the television coverage. As a broadcast television engineer, I have also been involved in these trials.

The majority of camera viewfinders are black and white, so the cameramen rely on the contrast between objects on order to be able to follow the ball and focus on the object.

People have suggested using yellow, but as certain grasses contain a yellow pigment the ball tends to disappear in the viewfinder. The same applies to the use of a white ball, as it would not be visible to the batsmen as it would disappear against the bowlers’ whites. Southampton

SIR – Is that what day-night Test matches are going to be like? Loudmouthed yobs with no understanding of the niceties of the game who cannot even quieten down as the bowler runs up, to allow the batsman to concentrate on his shot. And what is it about men at the game who have to behave like children at a fancy-dress party – and drink themselves foolish? Peter and Daphne Clarke Richmond, North Yorkshire

SIR – How I agree with Simon Warburton (Letters , August 14) on the impending death of Test cricket.

My love of cricket began by watching the great players of the Fifties on BBC television and on visits to Headingley with my father. The myopic chase for cash by today’s administrators will ensure the demise of the game we love.

Nawton, North Yorkshire