Yesterday, at Forsyth Barr Stadium, these strangely coloured balls were the centre of attention.
A dozen pink balls, to be used in the first day night test, were being tested by Animation Research Ltd yesterday to see if they would work in the company's Virtual Eye system.
Virtual Eye is the system used by the Dunedin based company to help umpires make difficult decisions in matches.
In late November, the Adelaide Oval will host the first day night test, between New Zealand and Australia. It will use a pink ball which can be seen better under lights than the traditional red ball.
ARL general manager Sophie Luther said four cameras were used for the trial in the stadium yesterday to see how well the ball could be picked up.
The company had tried the ball at the University Oval last week during the daylight, but the covered stadium was really the only venue suitable to test it under conditions such as dusk and then total darkness. The roof helped yesterday in the wet weather.
It was planned to bowl balls on a makeshift pitch in the middle of Forsyth Barr Stadium through until about 9pm yesterday.
''We need to make sure the system works with the new pink ball. We have been working with Kookaburra, the ball maker, and Cricket Australia and New Zealand Cricket,'' she said.
''We have got a tracking algorithm which we use in tests and in one dayers and we have to see if it works all right at night, and with the pink ball.''
ARL was also testing a couple of super high definition cameras. The 12 pink balls were in various stages of wear so they could be fully tested under the system.
Results of the testing would go back to Cricket Australia and New Zealand Cricket.
