Cricket: Attitude welcome but pink's no wrecking ball

Ross Taylor

It may well be, as American singer/songwriter Miley Cyrus points out, that "pink isn't just a colour, it's an attitude".

But it seems the pink variety of cricket projectiles to be used in the Australia v Black Caps test series next month is no wrecking ball.

"I'm sure each side will be looking forward to what they can come up with in different aspects," says Black Cap Ross Taylor in Napier amid an element of intrigue over whether seamers and spinners will conjure novel ways to bamboozle batsmen.

"It's interesting. We've had a little taste of it. I've read somewhere that we're playing the Prime Minister's XI [one-dayer this Friday, Canberra] with a pink as well so that gives us another opportunity [to prepare]," Taylor says, adding the next round of Sheffield Shield matches in Australia will feature pink balls.

Although they had got a feel for the pink ball in Hamilton early this month, he stresses getting their eye in on the red one is imperative first up.

Needless to say the four-day Plunket Shield game last week was timely before he and fellow CD Stags Doug Bracewell jet off today for Australia.

"We don't play as often as we probably like [for CD] but anytime the Black Caps are playing it's always a good competition so it's a good time for the domestic players to learn from the Black Caps players," says Taylor, who dangled gifts of incentive (three magnums of wine and a personal bat) to CD opening batsman Ben Smith to score 244 runs.

"I think Boulty [Trent Boult] got five wickets [5-97], Guppy [Martin Guptill] got 80 odd [ 84 not out] and Kane [Williamson] and a few others spent some valuable time out in the middle today [Sunday]," he notes, considering the internationals are coming out of hibernation.