Ball breakthrough boosts night Tests
The Sunday Age
Sunday November 29, 2009
DAY-NIGHT Test cricket could be played in Australia as early as 2011 after successful trials of a revolutionary new finish that allows the white leather ball to keep its colour."It's a real breakthrough for us," said Rob Elliott, managing director of Kookaburra Sport, suppliers of Test balls to Australian cricket since 1946."The early trials show clear evidence that the ball is not scuffing or deteriorating as much, thanks to this new finish. Our laboratory staff are very excited."It can open a new vista for cricket as we know it, with TV rights, sponsorships and new waves of support."Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland says cricket has been searching for years for a ball which acts and wears like a traditional red ball."It's only early days with all the trialling, but there's no doubt we are looking to play Test cricket into the evenings so more can see it. We want to have more options and more flexibility with our scheduling. It's all about growing the game," he said.Match trialling at Sheffield Shield level is possible next season. But the Ashes tour dates have already been finalised and will remain strictly day fixtures."If the players embrace the ball and the integrity of the game is unaffected, it's a win-win situation for everyone," said Elliott. "Because Test cricket has been played from basically 11[am] to 6[pm] for 130-odd years doesn't mean that administrators shouldn't explore their options. They've asked us to provide a ball which will stand up and still be seen and that's what we're looking to do."We would like some more time to present the best possible ball which does not compromise standards. Cricket administrators need to be patient. But we are definitely closer to what we want given the results of the last fortnight."Elliott says white rather than pink balls appear best suited for night cricket while Australia's southern venues like Adelaide, Melbourne and Hobart, with their long twilights, are probably best suited. Cape Town and Port Elizabeth in South Africa would also be ideal."In England, too, with its long summer nights, you could easily play up until 8.30 or 9[pm], allowing people to go to work as per normal and still see half a day's cricket," he said. "There are real options there worth exploring."Day-night Sheffield Shield matches using orange balls were trialled 15 years ago. But players were unconvinced by the experiment, most saying the ball "hooped around" too much, especially in the early evening hours.Kookaburra Sport and scientists from the CSIRO are among a coterie of partners, in Australia and overseas, working with Cricket Australia to provide a ball suitable for day-night conditions.White balls have tended to scuff prematurely, especially on rougher pitch areas, making them harder to see for batsmen and spectators.Elliott says trials with the new-finish balls at its own laboratories and at the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane have again raised hopes that the white ball, so successful at limited-overs level, also can last for 80 overs now. "It's a new material we have been working with and the breakthrough we have been looking for years," he said.England has scheduled a day-night Test against Bangladesh in 2010 hoping by then for a ball of sufficient quality to be developed which would last 80 overs.
© 2009 The Sunday Age
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