A box of used pink cricket balls are pictured on the pitch on the eve of the first day of the first Test between England and the West Indies at Edgbaston in Birmingham (AFP)
Birmingham - In the UK there are approximately three million people with colour blindness, the Telegraph quoted the letter from CBA founder Kathryn Albany-Ward as saying
Published: Fri 18 Aug 2017, 12:36 PM
Updated: Mon 21 Aug 2017, 1:13 PM
Cricket chiefs have been accused of discriminating against the colour blind by deploying the pink ball in the first day/night Test match between England and the West Indies in Birmingham.
The first match of the three-Test series between the two teams is a day-night affair as the ICC is taking its latest step to keep alive the oldest format of the game.
The ongoing Birmingham Test is the fifth day/night Test match. The first day/night Test was played in Adelaide between Australia and New Zealand in 2015.
Dubai hosted the second day/night Test in October last year when Pakistan beat the West Indies. Australia played the next two day/night matches at home against South Africa and Pakistan.
So, this is the first time England has hosted a day/night five-day game.
But some people have raised concerns on the use of the pink ball in the day/night Test matches.
According to the Daily Telegraph, a letter from campaign group Colour Blind Awareness has urged the England and Wales Cricket Board to reconsider their use of the pink ball, which it said was difficult to see for both players and spectators with the condition.
"In the UK there are approximately three million people with colour blindness," the Telegraph quoted the letter from CBA founder Kathryn Albany-Ward as saying.
"So, it would be extremely difficult to argue that it is reasonable to use a pink ball when so many people are potentially adversely affected," the letter added.
Yorkshire and England batsman Gary Ballance, not playing at Edgbaston, is among those who've struggled to see the pink ball because of his colour blindness, although he recently said he was finding it easier to pick up after the ball had been modified.
And three years ago, Australia opening batsman Chris Rogers withdrew from a pink-ball trial match because he has the condition.
But it is understood all the England players at Edgbaston had eyesight tests in a bid to ensure they could cope with the pink ball.