Revamp on the agenda for pink ball

Cricket Australia is already in talks with manufacturer Kookaburra as they look to make improvements on the pink ball used in the inaugural day-night Test in Adelaide last month. 

The historic match was lauded as a "roaring success" by Black Caps skipper Brendon McCullum, with 123,736 patrons turning up to Adelaide Oval across three days of Test cricket. 

Subject to much debate in the build-up to the fixture, the pink ball evaded controversy throughout the course of the match, with no innings lasting more than 73 overs and a green pitch and grassy outfield ensuring it stayed in a healthy condition. 

However CA and Kookaburra have taken a two-fold approach to player feedback that the seam was difficult to pick up and general visibility was at certain times difficult, by investigating the possibility of changing the seam's colour to "jet black" and eliminating the "glow" of the pink ball. 

"We're already working on potentially the next evolution of the pink ball," CA head of cricket operations Sean Cary told New Zealand radio program Veitchy on Sport. 

"(CA and Kookaburra have) talked about how we can improve the sight of the ball. 

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"Having said that, I know from a fan and a TV viewer perspective, the pink ball sticks out like a beacon and it is quite surprising to hear the players struggle to pick it up both under lights and in natural daylight. 

"The one thing we're really trying to work on is that seam, and having spoken to Kookaburra, they think because the pink ball is so bright it actually glows, and if there is any variance of colour on the ball, the glowing nature of the ball actually kills that variance of colour. 

"So we're looking at ways we can make that ball not glow as much, and have a bigger contrast in the (colour of the) seam. 

"The next ball we look at will have almost a jet black seam to see if that creates a contrast which provides a better seeing piece for the player."

Given the consternation surrounding the use of the pink ball, the outcome of the Adelaide Test was a boon for CA, however Cary insists they are well aware that the playing group is not yet completely sold – something he expects to come with time. 

"As we continue to play more day-night Test cricket, and we continue to evolve the ball and the conditions that we play under, the players will get used to it … maybe in five years' time they'll think 'what was all the fuss about?'," he added. 

"We want to have a cricket that is enjoyed by both the people out in the middle and the people watching them play, so it's very important to get the players' feedback and react to it if we possibly can." 

The possibility of another day-night Test has already been mooted and Cary said the prospect had already been met with "enormous interest".

South Africa and Pakistan are each scheduled to play three Tests in Australia next summer. 

"We're certainly trying to work with our visiting countries to explore the opportunity of playing day-night Test cricket, and to be honest there is an enormous amount of interest there," he said. 

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"I can't guarantee a day-night Test match against South Africa and Pakistan, (but) we're hopeful of playing at least one next summer, but we need those two Boards to be able to trial it, practice with the pink ball and play some competitive cricket in their own countries, and once they've done that, the players will have a little bit more comfort around wanting to play. 

"But we're certainly working with our visiting countries to provide the research, the feedback and whatever we can to get them more accustomed to the thought of playing day-night Test cricket."