Proteas seamer Vernon Philander has expressed some reservations about the pink ball that will be used in a Test against Australia in November.
Opening bowler Philander got his first taste of the pink ball on Saturday in leading the SA A attack in the first four-day “Test” against Australia A in Brisbane, with the hosts winning the toss and electing to bowl first at the Allan Border Field.
The South Africans had a day of mixed fortunes as they reduced Australia A to 80/3 before a 151-run fourth-wicket partnership between Kurtis Patterson (74) and Marcus Stoinis (118 not out) took the home side past the 200 mark.
And despite the fact that star batsman Glenn Maxwell was dismissed for a duck by Sisanda Magala late in the day, an unbeaten 55-run stand between Stoinis and Sam Whiteman (35 not out) ensured that Australia A took the honours on day one as they ended on 302/5 off 88 overs.
But more importantly for the South African attack, bowling with the pink ball was a vital exercise, especially for the likes of Philander and off-spinner Dane Piedt, who may feature for the Proteas in the historic day-night Test against Australia at the Adelaide Oval from November 24-28, which could decide the series as it’s the final game.
Philander returned typically tight figures of 1/32 in 17 overs, with all the other front-line bowlers – Piedt, Magala, Duanne Olivier and Andile Phelukwayo – all taking a wicket each.
“I think it’s a little similar to the Duke (ball that’s used in England) – except when you get past 30 overs, the ball got extremely soft. I think that’s the only negative about it,” Philander said at the end of Saturday’s play.
“But all in all, I think we are all excited about the pink-ball games and as long as we can improve the ball, I think we will have a good future with the pink ball.”
The fact that the pink ball became so soft could result in a repeat of the first day-night Test in which it was used, between Australia and New Zealand in Adelaide last November, where extra grass was left on the pitch to ensure that the ball wasn’t worn out too quickly by the track.
The motivation behind the unique event was to bring more spectators to Test cricket, and the ploy worked in that regard as 123 736 people visited the Adelaide Oval.
But it ended up being extremely difficult to bat as the ball swung all over the place and the match ended inside three days in a three-wicket win for Australia, with the highest innings total being the hosts’ 224 in the first innings.
Cricket South Africa were initially reluctant to agree to playing the November Test under lights, largely due to the reservations of the players about the pink ball. Proteas captain AB de Villiers told Independent Media in April that concerns were raised following discussions with Australian captain Steve Smith and their players, particularly around whether the pink ball could last the required 80 overs, and the fact that the South Africans don’t utilise the ball in any other competition.
But in June, CSA agreed to the day-night Test after an additional first-class warm-up match under lights, to be played with the pink ball, was scheduled for Adelaide at the start of the Proteas’ tour Down Under in late October.
“As players, we are really happy to have grown our confidence to play a day-night Test match in a positive way,” De Villiers said in a statement at the time. “We were never against this exciting concept, but only wanted to give ourselves the best opportunity of competing in conditions that will be new and foreign to us.
“Two warm-up matches will hopefully give us an idea of what to expect and hopefully our preparations will help us to adapt accordingly.
“This will be the first time that our players in the Test squad will play pink ball Test match cricket in front of such a large crowd and to be part of this novel concept will no doubt be a landmark moment in all of our careers.”
@ashfakmohamed - Independent Media