Following on from the 'lively' debate at our the AGM last autumn, I gather that Geoff Dean has
not yet ordered any cricket balls for the coming season, so there is still a chance to express views on the subject and I intend to do so:
I first discovered the existence of coloured cricket balls when Irving Meadow started bowling what appeared to be a citrus fruit at us about four seasons ago - which led me to email their then Captain on the lines "How Did You Meadowmen Get Orange Balls?" Since then we have ourselves played with orange balls on occasion and I have found them outstanding - far better than the muddy brown castoffs we have previously been trying to pick out in the Scottish summer evening light (i.e. seriously murky). They seem to have a semi-luminous quality that make them visible in any conditions, even for aged and inexperienced cricketers (i.e. us)
At the AGM, Geoff also drew our attention to the existence of pink cricket balls. While I am quite prepared to believe they are also highly visible, I am worried that rival teams may
cast aspersions on our masculinity if we start using them regularly. On the other hand, perhaps an enlightened team like ours should not allow themselves to be overshadowed by such homophobic undertones.
I remain firmly opposed to the notion of using white balls. While OK for day night games at top level, we (some of us) play in white shirts on grounds with white sightscreens, which can be surrounded by houses with white harling and white pavilions. Once used, white balls also tend to flake and absorb some of the greenness of the outfield. They don't have the luminosity of orange or shocking pink balls and in the wrong circumstances can actually be very hard to see.
So my position is Orange: yes, Pink: maybe, White: no. Any views?
