Former England bowler Tim Bresnan believes the pink Dukes ball used for the first-ever round of day-night fixtures in the Specsavers County Championship is inferior to its red equivalent.
While 96 wickets tumbled across nine matches on a historic day for England's domestic first-class competition, Surrey's batsmen cashed in against Yorkshire by amassing 374 for six at Headingley.
And White Rose seamer Tim Bresnan was left unimpressed by what he perceives to be a largely ineffective pink ball, which he insists offers little for bowlers as it gets older as he was left pining for its crimson cousin.
Bresnan, who took one for 69, said: "It's definitely harder work with the pink ball. The red one always keeps you in the game because you can shine it up and swing it well into the 60th over.
"With the pink one, as soon as it stops swinging you're not getting it back. If they can improve the ball, make it harder for longer, that would make it more interesting, or better for the bowling unit anyway.
"Once the hardness wore off it felt like a one-day game in white clothes because it was like bowling with the white ball, no swing and no real seam."
All fixtures - with a start time of 2pm - exceeded 90 overs of play in a round that was scheduled to give England players practice of the pink ball and conditions for the first day-night Test on these shores against West Indies later this year.
However, it was a day to forget for a number of Test stars, chief among them all-rounder Ben Stokes, who was dismissed for a seven-ball duck before conceding 69 runs from 12 wicketless overs in his first game of the season for Durham.
Keaton Jennings made just six as Durham recovered to 197 all out, having collapsed to 18 for five when Stokes departed, before Worcestershire reached 213 for four at stumps at Chester-le-Street.
Haseeb Hameed (17) and Jos Buttler (two) also failed to push their claims for inclusion in England's Test side as Lancashire were skittled for 273 although their international colleague James Anderson had Will Porterfield trapped in front as Warwickshire closed on 23 for one at Edgbaston.
Former England captain Alastair Cook seemed to have no problem adapting to the pink ball as he registered a fluent 64 not out in an unbroken opening stand of 106 with Nick Browne for Essex in reply to Middlesex's 246 all out at Chelmsford.
Elsewhere in Division One, Somerset seamer Lewis Gregory took three for 51 before Hampshire declared on 211 for nine at the Ageas Bowl, where the visitors saw out the final six overs to finish on 18 without loss.
In Division Two, Luke Wright underpinned Sussex's 358 for nine declared with an exceptional 118 before Gloucestershire closed on 31 for no wicket at Hove and Nottinghamshire replied to Kent's 180 all out with 135 for three at Trent Bridge.
Leicestershire are wobbling on 65 for four in response to Northamptonshire's 261 at Wantage Road while Glamorgan survived the final two overs to close on five without loss after restricting Derbyshire to 288 at Cardiff.
Source: PA
