Cricket: Pink ball hard to see - players

The Aussie and New Zealand players say cricket authorities must keep tampering with the pink ball used for day/night test matches.

The international players' association has also called on the ICC to give cricket a clearer direction and involve the players in deciding how the game and its various formats should evolve.

Twenty players were surveyed by FICA after the test, won by Australia, and results indicate a majority had difficulty with the pink ball.

70% of the players admitted the ball was not easy to see when batting or fielding at dust. Half of the players had similar issues at night.

Australia's swashbuckling opener David Warner - whose run glut came to an abrupt end in the match - has already questioned the day/night venture, saying: "I don't understand why we're changing the game [but] it's something as players we're going to have to embrace.

"We've got to tinker with that ball a bit more."

FICA head Tony Irish - the South African players' representative - said Adelaide put a huge effort into preparing for the first ever day-night test, and suggested other venues around the world would struggle to be up to the task.

The survey of players after the Adelaide test showed that.-
* The pink ball did not show similar signs of wear and tear to the red ball (80%);
* The pink ball swung more than the red ball (80%), especially at night;
* The ball was not easy to see when batting or fielding at dusk (70%), and to a lesser extent at night (50%);
* The day/night conditions affected the length of the match (85%);
* Those who played were generally supportive of experimenting with day/night Test Matches, but were strongly of the view that the ball still requires improvement.

Irish said: "In trialling day/night test matches, we are essentially adding another new format to the international cricket structure which already lacks clear and common direction as to the best interplay between formats, and the best way for players to balance the growing conflict in club versus country commitments."

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