Cricket Australia is reportedly set to trial a series of pink-ball tests at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday along with Australia’s Nine Network in preparations for the inaugural day-night Test against New Zealand.
Australia’s next home Test series is against New Zealand starting in November, when the two governing bodies want to shed new light on the sport’s oldest format.
Details of the innovative test are yet to be confirmed, but the colour of the ball would be switched from red to pink in an unprecedented change for both players and broadcasters, Stuff.co.nz reported.
CA and Nine have arranged a pink-ball trial to take place before play, after play and during the innings break of Sunday’s ODI against India in Melbourne.
A new ball, 40-over ball and 80-over ball would be used.
CA chief executive James Sutherland claimed that to make sure from Nine’s perspective that everything shapes up well and to see how the ball comes up for a TV viewer are the sort of things that indicate that they are well advanced with their thinking.
The ball has been the biggest stumbling block for the concept, which Sutherland hopes would help support and sustain the existence of Test cricket. Initial feedback from the ball had been poor, but this season’s Sheffield Shield trial was considered more successful.
CA is continuing to work with manufacturer Kookaburra and Sutherland is confident that the change in colour won’t affect the contest. He said that he has seen the balls used this season and how they’ve come back after being used.
Sutherland said that outside the colour, there’s no difference to how the ball wears, the hardness and all of that. He added that there’s increasing confidence that they would have something to show and something to confirm before halfway through this year.
Both Australia and New Zealand will be afforded some pink-ball match practice before the Test, which is likely to be preceded by a day-night Shield round, the report added.
—ANI