ANYONE who is having trouble spotting the ball during this year's day-night Ashes test will be tickled pink by new research findings.
Research suggests players, umpires and live spectators struggling to see the pink ball preferred in day-night test matches should try using rose-tinted glasses.
Professor Derek Arnold from the university's school of psychology said pink balls have a reduced brightness contrast around the time of sunset.
"Changes in lighting- due to the sun getting redder around sunset,- reduce the brightness contrast of the pink ball against the pitch, grass and sky," he said.
"As a person's perception of motion relies on brightness contrast rather than colour, this could be a problem for players in sports like cricket- where timing is crucial for winning and for safety."
Dr Arnold's team measured how changes in brightness contrast could impact on timing in cricket and examined possible ways negative impacts could be negated.
"By stimulating the brightness contrasts measured in a day-night Sheffield Shield cricket match at the Gabba, we found that the reduction in contrast during twilight conditions resulted in worse timing," he said.
He said artificially viewing the ball through rose tinted glasses allowed players to improve their timing by around 10 per cent.
"Cricket tragics- like me- may want to try wearing rose-tinted glasses at a day-night match to better see the ball; it was certainly helpful when taking light readings at the ground."