CRICKET IN SWITZERLAND GOES PINK - A CRICKET BALL FOR MODERN TIMES

From 2015 season, Cricket Switzerland is using Dukes pink balls

Cricket in its traditional form was and is played primarily with red leather balls. Cricket balls through the ages were red because the ball-manufacturers in the 18th century England preferred 'red' dyes. This tradition carried on for generations until the time cricket got immersed in the world of commercialisation. Though, there has been one-day internationals with coloured clothing, night games and T20's - cricket at its core is played with red balls as it happens to be one of the few surviving cricketing traditions.

 

A GAME OF COLOURS - RED, WHITE, TO........PINK

The thought of coloured clothing disturbed this 'traditional' aspect of the sport. 'Red' ball, no longer fitted in with coloured clothing. The colour of the ball was changed to 'white', which meant - coloured clothing and night games were a reality and deemed practical for growth of the sport. In recent years, the governing body of cricket along with many cricket associations have pushed for day-night test matches (it has always been a day affair) with white clothing and thereby the ball required a new colour, something more conducive for the on-field personnel, spectators and to the broadcasters. Red, not suitable under lights and white ball with white clothing would be a disastrous combination - 'pink' became the unanimous colour.

The word 'pink' has a long history. In the 14^th century, anything that meant "to decorate with a perforated or punched pattern" was called 'to pink'. Of course, the decorations were of the flower 'Dianthus' which in Greek meant 'flower of Zeus', as named by Theophrastus, a Greek botanist. The colour of these flowers gave rise to the word 'pink' which we commonly use.

In the new millennium, an international cricket series included five-day affair 'tests' and coloured clothing 'one-day internationals'. With the advent of T20 cricket, the game shrunk - and the three hour cricket became an instant hit. Various leagues most notably, the Indian Premier League created ripples and cricket unleashed its newest and the bravest commercial avatar. This fast food formula made money and thus rocked the wooden chairs of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) - the governing body, the custodian who has the ultimate say on the laws of the game!

CHANGING WITH TIMES IS SMARTNESS

Since that landmark MCC's decision in 2009, when the committee waved a green flag to experiment with 'pink' balls, there has been several matches that were played (on a trial basis) with these new coloured balls. A women's international match between England and Australia as a part of Pink Sunday programme to support Breast Cancer Campaign happened to one of the first instances in international cricket to experiment with the pink balls.

In the last six years, there has been a first-class match between Durham and MCC played under lights at Abu Dhabi, a first-class match in the Caribbean and recently Cricket Australia has been at the forefront in having the combination of 'pink balls', 'white clothing' and 'day-night' first-class cricket work. It even created trials with the broadcaster last year and there is very likely, later this year, cricket would witness another revolution - the first day-night test match.

SWITZERLAND AMONG THE FEW TO USE PINK BALLS

For Cricket Switzerland and its cricket playing fraternity, the decision to switch to pink balls starting from 2015 season was simple and logical. Led by the President and ably supported by clubs and other committee members, the idea of pink balls and its experimentation was met with little resistance.

Switzerland doesn’t have the luxury or benefit of cricket only grounds & stadiums with sight-screens, and the background can often be white concrete sports buildings or apartment buildings, red brick housing, dark red & brown mountains, trees & forests (green in the summer, brown/red in the Spring and particularly in the Autumn).

'Visibility' is key when you play in the pastures of Swiss Alps in three different seasons

The above factors can make the traditional red ball difficult to see as a batsman, even more difficult as a fielder. The white alternative is better, but still not ideal as the facilities at public school and sports authorities are often white or grey. So the white ball gets lost in these too. Additionally the white ball tends to be of inferior quality compared to the red and thereby quickly loses its shine and colour on the rough artificial surfaces we have at most grounds, turning grey!

But mountains, buildings, stadiums, forests are not pink! Once we got over the array of jokes about using pink balls, the trials (for over a year) showed there are technical advantages of using the pink ball. They swing much like the red ball, and the one used (Duke's) retains its shine longer than the white and importantly its shape. Batsman see it better, spectators also find it easier to follow and the aging umpires also find it easier to judge.

Pink balls are easy to spot and it helps umpires and the spectators 

Cricket Switzerland believes in maintaining the traditional aspects of the sport (playing in whites); however, for practical purposes - like in this case turning to 'pink balls', it is simply a case of discovering a 'winning formula'. 

15 Years Later - Journey of The Great Indian Wall continues

It took fifteen years to witness what I missed on the English summer of 1996. As a 11 year old kid, I used to run to my friend's house down the road to watch cricket. Our house had cable connection, but due to different cable operators, ESPN wasn't on our viewing menu. Disappointed I was, but wasn't depressing as I had a friend who told me he had ESPN on his menu.

It was the evening of 21st June; India started their innings after England unfolded for 344 which included a resurgent hundred by Jack Russell batting lower down the order. Third day of the Test match after having played street cricket with my friends, I rushed to Basava's house 300 meters away from my house. First thing I remember was Ajay Jadeja getting out to Ronnie Irani, in fact he was bowled. Five wickets down and carrying the burden of having earlier watched Lewis castling Sachin Tendulkar, I thought to myself, Let's see what's in store for India this time.

This was my first viewing of India - England Test match, held in England. It was Lord's. I missed the first Test match at Edgbaston because I spent more time mourning and fighting with the cable operators. Looking back, wish Basava had told me his house had ESPN telecast.

Coming back to the Test match, out comes Rahul Dravid, local boy and someone for whom I always prayed he did well. He had a series of poor run at Singer Cup in Singapore and in Sharjah Cup against Pakistan and South Africa. I liked Rahul Dravid more so because he was from Bangalore. Till date, he remains my second favourite cricketer after Sachin Tendulkar.

Rahul Dravid joins Saurav Ganguly in the middle. Ganguly gets out after making a wonderful 131. By then, Dravid had weathered the initial butterflies a debutant goes through. And at the end of third day's play he had reached the first milestone of scoring a fifty. He had his Bangalore mate Kumble alongside him.

Day 4 - 23rd June, Sunday; I had to go with my parents to visit some relatives and also to shop for my birthday. Back then, I had to buy chocolates and sweets for my fellow classmates and teachers. Also had to plan what kind of dishes and number of friends I would have to invite home the next day. The match would begin at 3.30 in the noon (Indian time) and I had some time.

After shopping and the visits, I rushed to Basava's house to watch cricket. Kumble was out by then and very soon Javagal Srinath had to return back to the pavilion. I was bit nervous and was praying for Dravid's century. He took his time, taking singles and was well supported by Paras Mhambrey, who was playing his second Test. And then the moment came, Rahul Dravid edges a delivery from Chris Lewis through to Jack Russell and thereby ended his moment of glory by scoring a century on debut. He missed the landmark by five runs.

I was a happy man to see Dravid finally scoring runs. He followed it up by 84 at Trent Bridge, Nottingham in the third Test. He never looked back in the Tests since then.

15 years and one month hence, on a Saturday afternoon - Rahul Dravid walked out to bat at Lord's in what seems to be his last Test at this very venue where he made his Test debut. Barring Tendulkar, no one else in the current squad witnessed his debut as a mate. In these 15 years, Dravid managed to develop a unique relationship with Lord's. In his 154th Test, Dravid became the first player to play at Lord's while being a active member of MCC, now made it extra special by scoring the hundred. In his fourth attempt he finally made it at a place where it all began for him.

In the years to come, this hundred by Dravid shall remain in my memory. It has a journey of a cricketer and also the journey of me as a follower. I am watching the match on my laptop, in the city of Zurich, quite different from the street when I first saw him bat. It just goes to show, 15 years indeed seems a long time, but 'The Wall' manages to stay firm and looks solid for few more years to come.