Hues of Cricket.

Have you heard about the pink cricket ball? I bet you were probably amused by the news that ICC will use a Pink ball in some limited over matches. Are we turning cricket into a “girly” game 🙂 .Seriously though I don’t think this is such a bad idea. White color was picked because it was thought that it will be visible against most of the background colors and especially during day and night matches. But white balls do not keep their color for very long and they are hard to see in dim light. In fact they are now automatically replaced after 34 overs of a one-day match. Traditional red color is also not easy to see in bad light conditions. So it is time to search for a suitable color to replace white ball.

“We have tried white and orange balls and perhaps pink ones will last longer. This is a very interesting and very wise development and a colour might have been found that is easier on the eye.”
Mike Gatting

You might ask why they picked pink, why not orange or yellow or some other bright color? The idea is that a fluorescent pink ball will be more easily seen by a batsman, especially in poor light. This will also makes life little easier for the fielders in the outfield. I am all for trying out new colors as long as it does not diminish the quality of game and does not offer unjust advantage to either bolwers or batsmen.