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‘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.’
Australia spin legend Shane Warne on Thursday made a strong pitch for the pink ball to be used in all Test matches in place of the "pathetic" red cherry that offers "nothing" to the bowler.
The pink ball, as of now, is only used for Day/Night matches that became a part of Test cricket in 2015.
"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," he added.
The Australian said the red ball doesn't swing much for the bowlers with the exception of the Dukes ball in England and gets soft very soon.
"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."
"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," he added.
India and Australia are involved in a Day-Night encounter at the Adelaide Oval as the four-Test series began Thursday. The visitors won the toss and opted to bat first. At stumps, the score read 233/6 with Wriddhiman Saha (9) and R Ashwin (15) at the crease.
Three wickets in the final hour of play tipped the opening day completely in favour of Australia after India skipper Virat Kohli had set the visitors' innings up with his 23rd half-century.
The sessions card at the end of the day's action might read 2-1 in favour of Australia, but it was a day of top quality Test cricket as fortunes swung with each passing hour.