Photo Credit: Cricket Scotland
The Eastern and Western Premier Divisions have voted to transition to playing pink ball cricket for the 2022 season.
In a move away from the traditional red ball, the rules mirror the Scottish Cup, which has been played with a pink ball since 2012.
The clubs also have the option to play in coloured clothing instead of whites.
In addition, in advance of the change to the MCC Code of Laws, it has been decided that for the 2022 season there will be no saliva allowed to be applied to the ball.
“On the pitch, it’s worked great in the Scottish Cup the last few years I think we’ll see some bigger scores and bowlers having to use more ODI/T20 tactics to challenge batters with the pink ball.
I think it’s a great move to modernise club cricket and bring it a bit closer to the stuff that kids and casual fans watch on the TV. Might even pull a couple of people off the street into watch a game!”
Paddy Barbour – Western Premier League Champions Clydesdale captain
“The clubs wanted a change to increase the appeal of club cricket for younger cricketers. Coloured kit moves towards replicating what we see at the World Cup and Franchise competitions around the world. The pink ball is a cost-effective move to help facilitate this move too.
We will be operating with two pink balls in each innings just like in our international and regional fixtures.”
Bob MacFarlane – Chairman of East League Management Group
Scotland were involved in the first trial of the pink ball back in 2008 in a match against the MCC at Lord’s.
Cricket Scotland, formerly the Scottish Cricket Union, is the governing body for cricket in Scotland, based at the National Cricket Academy in Edinburgh. Established in 1908 and restructured in 2001, it became an ICC Associate Member in 1994. The organization includes three sub-associations: the East of Scotland Cricket Association, Western District Cricket Union, and Aberdeenshire Cricket Association.
