Western Warriors coach Justin Langer spoke ahead of the team’s Bupa Sheffield Shield match against the Queensland Bulls, starting tomorrow at the WACA Ground.
This round of the competition will be played as day-night matches and marks the first time such a Shield match has been played with a pink ball at the WACA Ground.
When questioned on the use of the pink ball in day night cricket, Langer said: “Cricket Australia are obviously determined to play a day-night Test match, so we’ve got to work out what the best (ball) is.
“Having played with a yellow ball, an orange ball and, last year, with a pink ball, it’s certainly different to playing with a red ball,” he continued. “My take always is perhaps we could just use the white ball.
“It’s proven if we’re playing Test cricket and I know it’s not traditional and I know it’s not traditional to play without white clothes, but, having said that, playing a day-night Test match probably isn’t traditional either.
“We’ll keep experimenting … last year we put a lot of effort, emphasis and thinking into it and maybe that distracted us,” he confessed. “So we’ll stick to our processes, they’re working at the moment and we’ll just realise it’s a different colour.
“It takes more time to adjust to the light anyway, even if you’re playing one-day cricket, then you’ve got to adjust to the pink ball,” he added. “One of our philosophies of batting here at the WACA Ground, you’ve got to be very diligent in your first 20 to 30 balls here, more-so than at other grounds.
“We might have to take that out to 30 or 40 balls, because you’ve got to be a lot more watchful.
“The ball is not as clear, there’s no doubt about that and it’s hard enough to bat at the WACA as it is, let alone under lights, with a different coloured ball.
“That’s something we have to be very diligent about this game.”
Western Australia: Adam Voges (c), Shaun Marsh (vc), Ashton Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Jason Behrendorff, Marcus Harris, Michael Hogan, Michael Klinger, Simon Mackin, Nathan Rimmington, Ashton Turner, Sam Whiteman.
Queensland: James Hopes (c), Joe Burns, Luke Feldman, Jason Floros, Peter Forrest, Peter George, Chris Hartley, Marnus Labuschagne, Alister McDermott, Greg Moller, Michael Neser, Nicholas Stevens.
James Buttler
As the editor of World Cricket Badger he is intent on building the website to give quality coverage of the domestic game around the world.
He is also the presenter of the Cricket Badger Radio Show on Radio Yorkshire every Tuesday evening between 7-9pm UK time.
James was the full-time Media Manager at Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 2007 and 2010.
James is a published author, a writer/video contributor to many cricket publications and a complete cricket badger!
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