Red, White and Pink Balls - The Difference

How will the pink ball revolutionise cricket?

Cricket has seen the use of red balls in Test matches and white balls in ODIs. Now, with the introduction of pink balls for day/night Tests, there is quite a bit of speculation about why the change is needed. Here, we take a look at the significance of the colour of the balls in relation to the type of the game being played.

Conventionally, cricket was being played only during day times. Test Cricket and First Class cricket were played with the traditional red ball, and the trend continues today as well. The red ball provides greater visibility during day times, and is suitable to be used almost for the entire day of play, before it begins to get worn out.

With changes being made to the game to promote it among the fans, day/night ODI matches were introduced. Since the red ball provided limited visibility under floodlights, there was a need for an alternative and hence came the white ball into play. Since white balls are more visible at night compared to their red counterparts, they were being used in day/night ODIs and ultimately in all ODI matches.

Why the pink ball was brought into play

Now, with the introduction of T20I cricket, Test Matches are losing steam among the audience. Most of the Test matches these days are played with sparsely filled stands, and fans are beginning to become content with just checking scores on websites. Hence, the introduction of day/night matches in Test cricket seemed more or less on the cards. But then again, an alternative had to be found to counter the limited visibility of the red ball in the night, and thus was born the idea of using a pink ball.

The pink ball uses an additional dye to increase its brightness, thus making it clearly visible under floodlights.

The pink ball was tried and tested in a few domestic matches, and was widely received with positive views, although a bag of criticisms also came along with it. During the trial matches, the pink ball swung more than the red ball, leading to a section of people to claim that the ball might unprecedentedly affect the course of the game.

But the stage is all set for the ball to make its foray into Test cricket this November. The first such day/night Test match using the pink ball is scheduled to be played between Australia and New Zealand from Nov 27 at Adelaide, albeit carrying with it a fair amount of speculations. Will this add a new dimension to cricket and bring back the audience to watch the good old Test matches?