Not So Pretty in Pink: Computational Modelling of Cricket Ball Visibility with Colour Vision Deficiency

Area of Science:

• Sports Science
• Vision Science
• Human Factors

Background:

• Day-night cricket uses a pink ball, but players report lower visibility than the traditional red ball, particularly during twilight conditions.
• Approximately 9% of male cricketers have a colour vision deficiency (CVD), yet its impact on ball visibility in cricket is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify how protanomaly (red-green color blindness) and deuteranomaly (green-weak color blindness) influence the visibility of different colored cricket balls.
• To assess the impact of ball color, age, and lighting conditions on visibility for individuals with and without CVD.

Main Methods:

• Utilized mathematical modeling to simulate ball visibility.
• Measured spectral reflectance of red and pink balls (new and old) in laboratory settings.
• Collected data on background spectral measurements and illuminance during a day-night cricket match at various times (day, dusk, night).

Main Results:

• Ball visibility varied significantly based on color, age, and observer type across different backgrounds and lighting.
• The old pink ball presented the most visibility challenges, particularly for observers with deuteranomaly at dusk and protanomaly against crowd and grass.
• Paradoxically, some observers with protanomaly experienced improved visibility of the old pink ball against the pitch and dusk sky.

Conclusions:

• The pink cricket ball may create a disadvantage for players with colour vision deficiencies.
• The traditional red ball provides more equitable and consistent visibility across various match conditions and observer types.