adminDubai — Cricket’s governing body yesterday said it was considering the use of non-red coloured balls in Test matches to avoid the scenario that arose in the first match between Pakistan and England in Abu Dhabi last week. England were denied a dramatic win on the fifth and final day on Saturday, falling short by 25 runs in chasing 99 when umpires called off play eight overs earlier due to bad light.
England captain Alastair Cook had shown frustration on not moving 1-0 up in the three-match series but head coach Trevor Bayliss accepted that it was according to the rules. Under the rules on-field umpires have the sole right of calling off play if they deem light unfit for play. The International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive David Richards admitted the issue of playing in bad light was still unresolved.
“There’s no doubt that this is one of those issues that cricket is faced with historically and we haven’t found a solution to it,” Richardson told journalists in a briefing. We’re pinning some hopes on developing a different colour ball, pink ball at this stage, if we could use that for the day/night Test cricket and if it stays in a decent enough condition.”
Australia and New Zealand will play with a pink ball in the first-ever day-night Test in Adelaide next month. — AFP.
Bongani Ndlovu