Mixed reviews for pink ball on day one

There have been mixed reactions from players about the pink ball after day one of the day-night Sheffield Shield round, with Australia captain Steve Smith saying the Kookaburra held together well while Tasmania quick Jackson Bird revealed he completely lost sight of it on several occasions.

The three matches at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Blundstone Arena and Adelaide Oval – the venue of the twilight Test starting November 27 – have returned inconsistent results on the performance of the ball less than a month out from its international debut.

Both Bird and Commonwealth Bank Bushrangers quick John Hastings had reservations, but NSW Blues skipper Smith - who made 67 batting at first-drop in Adelaide - says the ball the West End Redbacks operated with maintained its shape for an extended period of time.

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"It swung quite early today as well, they (SA) had the ball swinging for the first hour and a half," Smith said after play on a day that was well attended compared to regular day Shield matches in Adelaide, particularly in the evening sessions.

"I haven’t really had a chat to the boys yet to see if it responded differently (for batsmen in the evening session) and I haven’t batted under lights with the pink ball so I can’t really make a big judgement on it.

"But it looked like it held together quite well throughout the day, probably a lot better than it did on the more abrasive surface of Canberra, so that is I guess good signs."

Overall, 22 wickets fell and 822 runs were scored across the three matches on Wednesday, numbers that are almost identical to the opening day of the first Shield round last season when 22 wickets fell for 815 runs across three day matches.

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In Hobart, Bird says visibility was a major issue as the ball became older and artificial light took over from the setting sun.

"It was really tough (to see) when the ball got old and around that 60-over mark when it was getting dark and the ball was getting old that was the hardest time to field," Bird told cricket.com.au. 

"There was definitely a few times where I didn't see the ball at all. 

"But saying that, the second new ball at night, that was perfect, you could see that fine. 

"It's that period before and after dinner, just before the ball is about to get changed and it's just getting dark and the lights are coming on, that's the hardest time to see the ball."

Bird said the pink ball also barely swung in the normally swing bowler-friendly conditions of Bellerive Oval.

Watch: Tough going for bowlers on first day in Hobart

Tasmania's bowlers made early inroads with the new pink ball, but after the short supply of swing dissipated, Test batsman Adam Voges and veteran Michael Klinger combined for a 153-run stand.

Bird says bowling attacks must make the most of the new ball while it's hard and swinging, even on a green pitch like the one in the Tasmanian capital.

"The wicket we had today, we were talking about it after the game, there was a fair bit of grass on it and a fair bit of moisture in it as well," Bird said. 

"The red ball would have swung most of the day – it would have been in pretty good condition, really. 

"The pink ball had a few chunks out of it so it was hard to buff it up like a traditional red ball. 

"We got a few early wickets with it though and I think that's the key with these (pink) balls, you need to cash in with the new ball while it still swinging around because it's pretty tough work after that. 

The pink Kookaburra ball, which is constructed in the same fashion as its red cousin except for a thin extra layer of paint to retain its fluorescent colour, is said to act more like the white ball used in limited-overs cricket.

How the pink Kookaburra ball is made

As the pink ball deteriorates, large chunks of the ball are gouged out of the leather, making it difficult to load up one side of the ball with sweat and spit that preserves traditional swing and encourages reverse swing as the ball ages.

"Our ball wasn't too bad," Bird said when asked if the Tigers balls had eroded similarly to those around the country today. "There were three or four chunks on both sides of the ball. 

"We were trying to buff up one side, or trying to put more moisture in one side. 

"But it was pretty hard to tell which side was which. It was hard to get any moisture in the ball when there weren't any chunks out of it. 

"The only places you could get moisture in were the chunks. It's pretty hard to bring it back once it gets those chunks in it. 

"With a red ball, if it's scuffed on both sides you can normally bring one side back up and get it shiny, whereas these balls, similar to a white ball, you can't really shine them up."

Further north, Hastings said while the pink ball has improved since its inception, work still needs to be done if it is to match the red ball for consistency.

"The main issue for me is the hardness of the ball – it just doesn't stack up to the red ball," Hastings said. 

"Maybe if we change the ball at 50-55 overs or get a new one, or a semi-new one it might be a better contest towards the end. 

"The discolouration was a little bit of a factor tonight but not more so than it has been in the past. I think it stayed together a bit better than it has in the past.

"The ball just doesn't move off the straight. It's tough work. 

"All you've got to do is set straight fields and it's a quite a boring brand of cricket when you do have that pink ball."

Bird echoed Hastings' comments, saying the Tigers main focus from overs 50 to 80 were to maintain scoreboard pressure by drying up runs as the second new ball approached.