By IANS
Melbourne : Cricket Australia (CA) will commission a study into finding a revolutionary new ball which would allow Test cricket to be played at night, the media reported here Monday.
CA chief executive James Sutherland wants a conclusive report before the day-night idea is canned even as ball manufacturer Kookaburra has already expressed doubts whether this can be done, it was reported by the Herald Sun.
“I think it’s important we do that. I think it’s important we take the best possible advice. I can’t see any reason why you at least can’t ask the question,” Sutherland was quoted as saying by the daily.
Sutherland said the ball wouldn’t necessarily have to be of the traditional leather kind.
“There is a lot of fantastic things going on now with synthetics where they can actually change in their form. Who are we to exactly know what may work? Let’s ask the question of the technological experts,” he said.
The major stumbling block to CA’s idea of upending 130 years of history and turning Test cricket into day-night contests is the red ball, which cannot be seen by players under lights.
There are also problems with the white ball used in one-day internationals, meaning a yellow or orange-coated ball would need to be developed.
Sutherland said last week he wanted day-night Test cricket to be tried before the end of the decade, but Sunday said long duration matches of this kind would first have to be tried at the domestic level.