‘It doesn’t do anything’: Shane Warne calls red balls ‘pathetic’, wants pink balls to be used permanently in Test cricket

India vs Australia: Warne, the second-highest wicket-taker in Tests, reckons pink balls will add more value and excitement to Test matches, and should replace the traditional red balls, which he thinks have become ‘pathetic’.

Legendary Australia spinner Shane Warne feels it is about time that red balls are done away with entirely and be replaced by pink balls in Test cricket. Warne, the second-highest wicket-taker in Tests, reckons pink balls add more value and excitement to Test matches, and should replace the traditional red balls, which he thinks have become ‘pathetic’.

File image of Shane Warne. (Getty Images)

“I’ve been saying this for the last few years. I believe the pink ball should be used in all Test matches. Day games, not just day-night games,” Warne said on Fox Cricket.

“The pink ball, you can actually see the ball easier, crowd can see the ball easier. It generally does more than the red ball and it looks fantastic on TV. So why not use a pink ball the whole time? “Maybe change it at 60 overs because it goes soft, but I’d be using the pink ball for every Test match so more of it I would say.”

There have been apprehensions over the use of pink ball as well as Test cricket continues to evolve. The Day/Night Tests is believed by many former cricketers as the way ahead for the format, but despite the few concerns surrounding the pink balls, it’s longevity and how useful it is for bowlers, Warner suggests it ‘can’t be any worse than’ the red ones.

“No more red ball, it doesn’t swing, it doesn’t do anything, goes soft after 25 overs. It has been pathetic for so long now. Except for the Dukes ball in England, it has been rubbish,” Warne added. “The pink ball can’t be any worse than what the red ball has been for Test cricket. We haven’t seen swing, we haven’t seen seam. Absolutely nothing. So let’s try the pink ball in Test cricket.”