Cricket Australia dismiss pink ball concerns

Australia

Cricket Australia has played down concerns about the pink ball and says it will hold up well in the first day/night Test to be played in Adelaide, starting on 27 November.

A number of players, including Australia Test incumbents Adam Voges and Peter Siddle, said that the ball did not hold up for the entire match between the Australia Prime Ministers XI and the touring New Zealand side at the Manuka Oval in Canberra.

The Black Caps, who will be Australia's opponents in Adelaide, has also expressed some concerns but Sean Cary, who is the head of CA's cricket operations, is not worried at all.

Cary said: "We're not reading too much into the condition of the ball during the Prime Minister's XI match in Canberra. We know the Manuka wicket is very abrasive and has a similar impact on a white ball in limited-overs cricket.

"We've worked very closely with the Australian Cricketers' Association and Kookaburra during its development to get it ready and fit for purpose.

"That included making significant improvements in the last 18 months around greater seam visibility, colour, shape and hardness.

"We're as confident as we can be that the ball is ready to go and I think from the experiences in the last round of Shield cricket that we had using the pink ball, we can be really positive as we approach the Test."

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