Thaindian News

Sydney, Feb. 6 (ANI): After receiving a lukewarm response from players in Adelaide, pink balls appear certain to fall short of the standard Cricket Australia requires for day night Test matches.

According to players and officials from a state second-XI Futures League match, the balls deteriorated too quickly and at times the balls were hard to see, especially from square of the wicket.

Officials said the Kookaburra balls had retained their colour well, but had lost condition too quickly to last the 80 overs demanded by Test cricket, The Australian reports.

One source said the trial had been worthwhile but more development work was needed before the ball was used in Tests.

South Australian second-XI fast bowler Elliott Opie said the balls’ seam deteriorated faster than the traditional red variety.

“Everyone seemed to feel it behaved more like a white ball rather than a red ball. It was quite hard. It came off the bat quite hard and seemed to bounce more when it came off the deck,” he said.

“But where it became abrasive it went a sort of a mauve or a purple colour. And it didn’t seam or swing as much as a red ball,” he added.

The trials are the latest attempt to find a Test-standard replacement for the traditional red ball, which is too dark for night cricket. (ANI)