Blinded By The Light: Why Teams May Lose After The Sun Sets
Sydney Morning Herald
Friday December 6, 1996
Ever since the world's top cricketers began playing day-night matches, the team batting second - that is, at night under lights - has been more likely to lose. Sports scientists now think they know why.
It all has to do with eyesight. Optometrists studying the problem say cricketers who bat at night are liable to suffer from impaired vision caused by exposure to the sunlight while they were fielding in the afternoon.
Until now, cricketers have generally been unaware of the problem, but the Australian Optometrical Association hopes to change that.
Mr Neil Murray, an Adelaide optometrist and a spokesman for the association's sports vision section, said yesterday: "We've known for a long time that exposure to sunlight does affect vision for many hours afterwards, particularly when the light is not so good, but it seems that nobody has applied the knowledge to sports people."
The problem is that intense sunlight bleaches pigments in the back of the eye which are vital to sharp vision. The pigments take 24 hours or more to regenerate fully.
Mr Murray said the problem was a particular worry for day-night cricketers, who, if their side fielded first, had to spend the afternoon in sunlight before batting at night in relatively poor artificial light. But people playing any sport under lights needed to be aware of it.
The association first drew attention to the issue at an Australian Institute of Sport seminar in Canberra some weeks ago.
Today, Australia and the West Indies will play the first one-day international of the summer - a day-night match in Melbourne. The results of previous day-night internationals suggest that the team which bats second tonight is significantly more likely to lose.
By contrast, the records show that a team batting second in daytime matches is more likely to win.
Mr Murray said a batsman whose eyes were affected by sunlight could not pick up the ball's trajectory so easily under lights and would not see the position of the bowler's fingers on the ball so clearly, nor the spin of the seam in flight.
"The difference in vision is relatively small and the batsman himself is never aware of it, but the difference can be critical at the international level," he said. "Over the years I'm sure it's affected the performances of many top players without their realising it."
The side fielding first can guard against the problem by wearing sunglasses, as many fielders are already doing, but no such protection is possible for someone like Mark Taylor, who might bat in sunshine without sunglasses for much of this afternoon and be expected to take sharp catches in slips tonight.
The association's advice to footballers playing at night is to wear sunglasses during the day of the match or stay out of the sunlight altogether.
BAT FIRST WINNERS BY DAY AND NIGHT
WORLDWIDE
DAY - 47.35%
DAY/NIGHT - 56.60%
IN AUSTRALIA
DAY - 48.73%
DAY/NIGHT - 56.83%
NB Figures are for limited-over matches and exclude no result or tied games.
© 1996 Sydney Morning Herald
