This was revealed by the West Indies Cricket Board’s chief executive Ernest Hilaire while speaking at the launch of the first day-night, four day game which bowls off tomorrow between Guyana and Trinidad & Tobago at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground.
“The longer version of the game is played with white clothing. The shorter version (One-Day International and Twenty20) used coloured clothing,” Hilaire explained.
“So if you are going to use a white ball for the longer version the first thing you have to do is change the clothing because you wouldn’t use a white ball with white clothing.
“So once there’s a decision to keep white clothing for the longer version of the game you cannot use a white ball.
He said there had been concerns over the wear-and-tear of the white ball, pointing out that it has had to be changed a few times during an ODI.
According to the top WICB official, this would mean changing the ball several times during an innings of a four-day game or Test match.
“There is a serious problem with the white ball as far as discolouration is concerned,” Hilaire noted.
He said once the ICC endorsed the use of the pink ball for trial, it was incumbent on the WICB to follow suit.
This weekend’s match will be the first of four such fixtures with the second day-nighter scheduled for Kensington Oval in Barbados for the fourth round clash between Barbados and Windward Islands.
The third game is set for the National Stadium in Guyana for the fifth round game between Combined Campuses and Colleges and Jamaica while the final day-night match will be played at the Beausejour Cricket Ground where CCC take on Leeward Islands in a final-round fixture.
