New black seam to be used on the day-night pink ball
After some complaints about visibility a modified pink ball, using a black rather than a white seam, will be trialled in the Sheffield Shield next week.
Australia will trial a modified pink ball featuring a black seam in the domestic Sheffield Shield competition next week after complaints from players about visibility issues with the luridly coloured ball during the inaugural day-night test last November.
The new black-seamed ball will be used in matches in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, and Cricket Australia will be sounding out the reactions from the players, the organisations said this afternoon.
"Feedback from the players following the first day-night Shield round, as well as the historic day-night test in Adelaide, is that while the ball had improved significantly, the seam was difficult to see at times," Sean Cary from Cricket Australia said.
"To address these concerns, we've worked with (manufacturer) Kookaburra to introduce a fully black seam to make it easier to see."
Drawing huge crowds and bumper TV audiences, the first day-night test between Australia and New Zealand at Adelaide Oval was hailed a success by organisers.
Australia won the game within three days, by three wickets, with some saying that the game's delicate balance between bat and ball had been skewed towards the bowlers, with players on both sides also saying they'd found it hard to pick out the seam under the floodlights. A test hadn't finished that fast in Adelaide since 1951,
Cricket Australia is determined to make day-night tests a feature of every home summer and has sounded out South Africa and Pakistan about playing day-night matches when they tour this year. They are hoping the black seam will ensure their plans come to fruition.