Gary Ballance to miss Yorkshire's pink-ball match against Surrey owing to colour blindness

What’s the story?

England Test player and Yorkshire captain Gary Ballance will miss his side's pink-ball County Championship clash against Surrey this season - due to being colour blind.

The left-hander has admitted that he struggled to pick the pink ball previously and thus cannot differentiate between the pitch and ball.

"It's not ideal. The last time I played with it, I struggled to see it. That was about four, five or six years ago in second-team cricket. I have already spoken to an optician in Headingley to see if they can get anything to help,” Ballance was quoted as saying by the Telegraph.

The Details

Ballance was once the mainstay of the England batting after the retirement of Jonathan Trott as he made the number 3 his own, but owing to an extended slump in form he was dropped from the England team and has since been finding it difficult to make a comeback as a permanent member into the team.

This vision problem could well be a problematic one as in the future many Test matches will be played under lights.

This could be a defining moment in the career of Ballance who was appointed captain of Yorkshire at the beginning of this season and although he is getting his eye tested, he conceded that this could be a tricky moment in his career.

In case you didn’t know...

Ballance has also revealed that he picks up the red ball quite late often when it comes from a difficult background. It has to be mentioned here that the left-hander is not an isolated example of a player suffering from colour blindness.

Last season, former Australian player Chris Rogers too missed a season in Australia owing to this specific issue.

What’s next?

Yorkshire will take on Surrey in a Championship day-night fixture with the pink ball between June 26 - June 29. Newly appointed England Test captain Joe Root and wicket-keeper batsman Jonny Bairstow will turn up for the county side.

Author's Take

Although physical impediments are not in the control of a player, this could well prove to be detrimental for the career of Gary Ballance as slowly Test cricket is moving under lights and if his eyesight is not cured, England could well take a look at a different player.