Day-night Test to go ahead despite stink over pink ball

SYDNEY, Oct 29, (AFP): Cricket Australia says it intends to proceed with next month’s contentious firstever day-night Test despite player unease over the experimental pink ball to be used.

The historic Test is scheduled for Adelaide Oval on Nov 27 between Australia and New Zealand in a move authorities hope will boost television audiences and usher in a lucrative new era for the five-day game.

Manufacturer Kookaburra said it has tried to sculpt a suitable ball for the occasion — something that is visible under lights but behaves similar to a traditional red ball.

But the innovation has been criticised by players, with new Australia skipper Steve Smith saying on Wednesday he had trouble seeing the seam after batting against it for the first time.

Senior Australian batsman Adam Voges added that the pink ball did not hold up well in recent games against New Zealand in Canberra, while oneday international paceman John Hastings scoffed: “The ball doesn’t move off the straight.

“All you got to do is set straight fields, it’s quite a boring brand of cricket when you do have that pink ball,” he said.

It has sparked calls from some for Cricket Australia to revert the Adelaide Test back to its traditional day-time schedule, but the organisation is having none of it.

“We’re confident with the work that’s been done on the pink ball over many years and Kookaburra have been developing it over seven years,” a CA spokesman told AFP.