Cricket: Day-night test not what it seams for batsmen

Cricket's pink ball experiment has a serious downside for players. Photo / AFP

Pivotal to a first-class batsman's livelihood is the ability to watch for the seam position in a bowler's hand.

The average see-ball, hit-ball club cricketer might have a better chance of understanding Einstein's theory of relativity than computing whether an off-cutter or outswinger is imminent but, to a professional, this is sacred intellectual property.

The key lesson to be drawn from the pink ball's debut in the three-day Adelaide test was simple: the seam needs to be more prominent in a batsman's vision as the ball is delivered.

Much has been made about the ball's excellent visibility to the crowd and on television, but that is too myopic when it comes to judging overall cricketing vision. If top batsmen can't see the seam, it takes away the split-second of competitive advantage and muscle memory which enabled them to scale so high on the sport's ladder. The fan experience is a cornerstone on which cricket is built, but it risks being diluted if players consider their working conditions unreasonable.

The Herald understands several New Zealand players held significant concerns about the pink ball which weren't voiced publicly in the test aftermath. Coach Mike Hesson played the role of diplomatic envoy instead. He heaped praise on the day-night concept but tempered that with his ball critique.

"It does need a bit of tweaking ... both sides struggled to see the seam at night. We all enjoyed the fact the ball swung but it's something we need to look at because it's a bit more hazy than a normal ball so that needs to be worked on."

Of the six lines of stitching around the ball, the inner two are white and the outer four are green. A simple solution might mean changing them all to green to contrast against the pink leather.

Hesson believed a similar spectacle could translate to New Zealand, despite the prospect of dew ruining the ball for bowlers.

"There's anti-dew spray these days so that's not as big of an issue as in the past. It's certainly a concept that could work with a bit of fine tuning like taking a bit more grass off the wicket to even the balance up [between bat and ball]."

Lush outfields which protected the ball's condition could also be further trimmed so the ball weathered more to stymie swing.

Bowlers would be within their rights to baulk, given the punishment they've been subjected to in recent years with bigger bats and benign pitches, but balance is the ultimate aim.

Former Australian opener and now radio commentator Chris Rogers, a man who suffers from colour blindness, admitted at one point he could only see the ball about halfway up the pitch. To a top order batsman tasked with seeing the shine off the ball, that's potentially lethal. As a player, Rogers even had to withdraw from a pink ball practice match in November 2014 because of his sight deficiency. The 38-year-old was retired within a year.

It's worth remembering too that what the crowd of 123,736 brought in revenue for Cricket Australia, it also lost over two potential days because, after bat had bullied ball in Brisbane and Perth, the reversal of fortune was so sudden and extreme.

Kane Williamson and David Warner were prime examples. The pair made a combined 1020 runs across the series but could muster only 67 from their combined four innings in Adelaide.

Overseas broadcast markets might also be wary if day-night tests are prone to fizzle and revenue cannot be recouped through strong enough subcontinent advertising commitments.

Regardless, the concept shapes as a permanent tenant with New Zealand also putting in place plans to host a replica.

The simplest improvement solution might come down to two rows of green stitching.