ECB rejects pink balls for 2009 domestic games

	The ECB may have rejected it, but the pink ball is targeting a presence in the IPL © Clare Skinner Enlarge

The ECB has rejected the MCC's proposal to use high visibility pink balls in domestic limited-overs games in 2009. The MCC had suggested using pink balls as an alternative for white ones, which often get discoloured and can be difficult to spot in day-night matches.

The MCC believes pink balls will be easier to spot for players and spectators, and have been conducting trials, most recently in the national club Twenty20 finals under lights at Cardiff two weeks ago. "We thought the pink balls worked", the MCC's head of cricket John Stephenson told the Daily Telegraph, "but the view of the ECB cricket committee was that they were little better than the white balls we use at the moment.

"The decision was that pink balls didn't add anything visually although they were something different." The ECB, meanwhile, is considering experimenting with fluorescent yellow balls, similar to the colour used on tennis balls, in non-county games next season.

However, the MCC are hopeful their proposal to use pink balls will be received favourably by other parties. "The IPL are quite interested in using pink balls and I am waiting to hear back from them", Stephenson said. "I have also been in contact with Clare Connor, the ECB's head of women's cricket, and the ICC about the possibility of using pink balls in the women's World Cup next year, so that's another possibility.

"We will continue to use pink balls because we believe that they retain their colour longer than white balls," he said. "If we are going to play day-night Test cricket in the future then we are going to have to find a solution."