ECB opts for black and white set

After spending the last decade trying to make cricket more colourful, the authorities yesterday decided that certain aspects of the game looked decidedly and decisively better in black and white.

The NatWest Triangular series has sported black stumps and bails, but the umpires at Edgbaston complained about difficulties in making a judgment about run outs and stumpings when they were looking into a dark background. This led to discussions among the England and Wales Cricket Board, the match referee and the umpires and resulted in white bails being introduced for the first time to sit in stark contrast on top of the black stumps. And that will be the case for the remaining matches of the series.

And the ECB maintained their theme of seeing everything in black and white when they announced that their clampdown on pitch invaders had resulted in further prosecutions, this time from the Test match at Edgbaston between England and Sri Lanka. Three fans who ran on to the playing surface – in contravention of the Public Order Act – have been successfully prosecuted and now have criminal records.