Brett Elliot, managing director of Kookaburra, opens up about the challenges facing the brand in facilitating an even playing field with the pink ball
The answer to how ready India are to host a day-night Test will likely be found over the next few weeks as the Duleep Trophy, the tournament that opens India’s domestic season, will be played under lights. The pink ball will be used for the first time in Indian first-class cricket during the tournament.
Earlier this year the Cricket Association of Bengal hosted India’s maiden pink-ball match – the final of the Division 1 tournament, between Mohun Bagan and Bhowanipore. The balls were supplied by Kookaburra, the Australian cricket-goods manufacturer, who have been carrying out extensive research into making changes to the ball to ensure its suitability for Indian conditions. Brett Elliot, Kookaburra’s managing director, explains the challenges involved in making a ball that will aid pace and spin in Indian conditions.
What was the feedback you received after the Kolkata match?
The feedback was very positive. The players were happy with the balls and their performance. They felt the ball swung earlier on and didn’t do much later on. That is reflective of what we also experienced with the pink ball. But the wear of the ball was very good. The players also felt the visibility of the ball was very good. This always will be a process of continual improvement. The process when you take the feedback of players and experts. You look at it and review it, and you continually try and refine the product at each stage.
Going into the match at Eden Gardens, what were the things you were certain about?
The biggest challenge is the variation of pitch and playing conditions around the world. And not just from one country to the next, but even so much as one ground to the next. Increasingly we are seeing that the preparation of pitches is becoming much more scientific and therefore we are in situations where the ball might perform perfectly in one set of conditions, and then we go to a ground where a pitch has been prepared where any grass and moisture has been removed. In such conditions, a coloured ball will always suffer more than a red ball.
Therefore our biggest challenge is to overcome the variations in conditions. We can improve the wear-resistance characteristics of the coloured ball. But when you play on a less abrasive wicket, the ball does not wear enough. So our goal is trying to get that right balance when the ball deteriorates at the stages, the levels and the pace at which it should, and then trying to find the balance across all the varying pitch conditions.
It is not just about the ball. The wicket can be completely dry but the square around the pitch could be really abrasive, and the players could think of throwing into the square to scuff the ball – that would be another factor that comes into play. So we have to understand what are the playing conditions that need to be created as a whole to ensure we get a fair and balanced match.
Why did you insist that grass be left on the Eden pitch?
There were three pitches – one was left out from the World T20, one from the IPL. They were both without any grass cover, very dry, and were in a repaired state. We could not use them. The third pitch had about 3mm across it, not on all areas, but in some. Now I understand that is probably a lot of grass in India, and that is probably considered to be no grass in some other countries. Because we did not know how the ball would perform on a pitch without any grass, we did not want to subject the ball to the worst possible scenario [abrasive surface]and then risk it not working, or the ball deteriorating too quickly and then creating negativity towards the situation, which would have been unfair.
We subsequently have conducted trials in different environments and tested the ball on different surfaces to refine the product accordingly. I believe the National Cricket Academy has done trials to see how the pink ball performs. The groundsmen are learning about how to prepare conditions that would induce a good, competitive game and encourage all facets of the game from pace to spin.
It is well known now that the pink ball swings easily at the start of the match, compared to the SG Test ball that is used predominantly in Indian domestic cricket. But one factor that goes against the Kookaburra is that movement off the pitch or in the air reduces quickly after the first hour or so. How do you factor that into the making of the pink ball?
We are looking at making changes to the ball that would make it a little bit more suitable for spin bowling, a little bit more suitable for seam bowling, and the seam holds up a little bit longer. That is not hard for us to do, but what we don’t want to do is make a radical change, and then all of a sudden change the characteristics and expectations in a game. We have to do these changes gradually and subtly and through a consultation process with the game’s statekeholders.
ESPNcricinfo
