Sighting white-ball an issue with creamy seats on the background, claims Graham Ford

In what has come as a unique challenge ahead of the Ireland-England ODI series, Ireland white-ball squad faced a precarious situation at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton. During their Intra-Squad game, Ireland players suffered the problem of spotting the white ball against the backdrop of the cream-coloured unoccupied seats at the Ageas Bowl. The red-ball didn’t create any sort of problem for the first Test between Windies and England, but no one really thought of this dire situation until Ford brought it up yesterday.

"The thing that's a little bit of a concern is the background. The seating is either cream or white, and you've got a white ball and an empty stadium, so that background for fielders might be a challenge," Ford said, reported ESPN Cricinfo. 

While all three games of the series are day-night matches, the teams won’t have to face that challenge in the second innings but the day time would be a problem. While Cricinfo reported that the ECB has no plans to add dark covers to the seats, the players will have to adapt to the situation, something Ireland's captain Andy Balbirnie is very much aware of. 

"It does take a bit of getting used to, but we've got a week of prep and we can make sure that we hone that, and make sure that guys are comfortable and almost getting their eyes in while fielding. It can be tricky: a white ball on cream and white seats will be tricky, but we've got enough time to make sure we can't use that as an excuse."