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Shane Warne offers up solution to pink ball woes in day-night Tests
Day-night Tests are still somewhat of a novelty and problems with the pink ball persist, but Shane Warne has an idea to fix the format’s big issue.
Shane Warne believes he has come up with a solution to pink balls becoming too soft, too quickly in day-night Test matches.
The former spin king, who continues to push for a day-night Boxing Day Test at his beloved MCG, wants two of the Kookaburra-produced pink balls in operation at all times.
One ball would be used at each end, as has been the case in all ODI matches for the past eight years.
It would be a first for Test cricket.
Warne believed his plan would minimise the difference between conditions during the afternoon and night sessions.
“The pink ball goes too soft. We heard the players say it goes really soft quickly,” Warne said.
“That’s why the game is so much dictated to bowling under lights in that last session.
“You could take that out of the equation (by having) a pink ball from both ends.
“The ball will swing and do stuff during the day a lot more, so it doesn’t become such an issue at night time.”
Australia is due to face India in a four-Test series next summer, preceded by a one-off Test against cricket minnows Afghanistan.
Debate is raging over which cities should host the sought-after India contests, with the schedule to be determined next year.
Doubts remain over whether India will agree to playing day-night Tests in Australia.
The pink ball is still a work in progress.Source:News Corp Australia
“I don’t think you need all day-night Test matches, but I think Melbourne would be fantastic for a Boxing Day Test match with 80-90,000 people there,” Warne said.
“I’d be making Adelaide and Melbourne the two day-nighters.
“Brisbane, Perth and Sydney; the pitches there are fantastic. They turn, they seam, they do all that stuff.
“Melbourne and Adelaide are the ones that can get a bit flat at times, so play them under lights.”
Mitchell Starc has a stellar record with the pink ball but has urged powerbrokers not to overdo day-night Tests, saying he still prefers traditional red-ball contests to five-day matches under floodlights.
“Don’t overdo it,” Starc said in Perth after defeating the Kiwis in the first Test.
“It’s great for cricket but I’m still a traditionalist at heart, so don’t take away too many from the red-ball game.
“We still find them (pink balls) going soft on the harder wickets at a certain point, perhaps a little bit sooner than the red-ball.”
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I saw this interview, Warne also said he thought would be good opportunity for Riley Meredith to be added to the Boxing day test squad for experience
I have no problems having the MCG test as a D/N provided it is not the boxing day test, how about that Shane?
