TY - JOUR
T1 - Difficult at dusk? Illuminating the debate on cricket ball visibility
AU - Maule, John J.
AU - Maguire, Robert
AU - Timmis, Matthew A.
AU - Runswick, Oliver
AU - Wilkins, Luke
AU - Mann, David L.
AU - Dain, Stephen J.
AU - Bosten, Jenny M.
AU - Allen, Peter M.
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was funded by a PhD studentship to RM. Funding from the European Research Council under the European Union's Horizon 2020 - Research and Innovation Framework Programme (grant agreement 772193 : COLOURMIND) supported JM's work on this project.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Authors
PY - 2024/6/5
Y1 - 2024/6/5
N2 - Objectives: Investigate the visibility of new and old red, white and pink cricket balls under lighting and background conditions experienced during a day–night cricket match. Design: We modelled the luminance contrast signals available for a typical observer for a ball against backgrounds in a professional cricket ground, at different times of day. Methods: Spectral reflectance (light reflected as a function of wavelength) was derived from laboratory measurements of new and old red, white and pink balls. We also gathered spectral measurements from backgrounds (pitch, grass, sightscreens, crowd, sky) and spectral illuminance during a day–night match (natural afternoon light, through dusk to night under floodlights) from Lord's Cricket Ground (London, UK). The luminance contrast of the ball relative to the background was calculated for each combination of ball, time of day, and background surface. Results: Old red and old pink balls may offer little or no contrast against the grass, pitch and crowd. New pink balls can also be of low contrast against the crowd at dusk, as can pink and white balls (of any age) against the sky at dusk. Conclusions: Reports of difficulties with visibility of the pink ball are supported by our data. However, our modelling also shows that difficulties with visibility may also be expected under certain circumstances for red and white balls. The variable conditions in a cricket ground and the changing colour of an ageing ball make maintaining good visibility of the ball a challenge when playing day–night matches.
AB - Objectives: Investigate the visibility of new and old red, white and pink cricket balls under lighting and background conditions experienced during a day–night cricket match. Design: We modelled the luminance contrast signals available for a typical observer for a ball against backgrounds in a professional cricket ground, at different times of day. Methods: Spectral reflectance (light reflected as a function of wavelength) was derived from laboratory measurements of new and old red, white and pink balls. We also gathered spectral measurements from backgrounds (pitch, grass, sightscreens, crowd, sky) and spectral illuminance during a day–night match (natural afternoon light, through dusk to night under floodlights) from Lord's Cricket Ground (London, UK). The luminance contrast of the ball relative to the background was calculated for each combination of ball, time of day, and background surface. Results: Old red and old pink balls may offer little or no contrast against the grass, pitch and crowd. New pink balls can also be of low contrast against the crowd at dusk, as can pink and white balls (of any age) against the sky at dusk. Conclusions: Reports of difficulties with visibility of the pink ball are supported by our data. However, our modelling also shows that difficulties with visibility may also be expected under certain circumstances for red and white balls. The variable conditions in a cricket ground and the changing colour of an ageing ball make maintaining good visibility of the ball a challenge when playing day–night matches.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85186370536&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jsams.2024.02.004
DO - 10.1016/j.jsams.2024.02.004
M3 - Article
SN - 1440-2440
VL - 27
SP - 408
EP - 414
JO - JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND MEDICINE IN SPORT
JF - JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND MEDICINE IN SPORT
IS - 6
ER -