The proposed introduction of a luminous yellow ‘smart’ ball for next year’s hurling championship instead of the traditional white sliotar has been met with resistance from a host of players. Pending approval from Central Council early in the New Year, the new sliotar could be in play next summer but many hurlers are not in favour of the change, particularly for championship action.
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Former Tipperary star Shane McGrath voiced his concern, with the 2010 All-Ireland winner believing that it should only be used in difficult conditions when visibility is an issue.
«There is a time and a place for yellow sliotars and that’s if a game is being played under lights. If the conditions are really foggy or snowy, there is a time for a yellow sliotar there,» McGrath told 2FM’s Game On.
«Maybe I’m just a traditionalist. It’s not broken, why do we have to fix it? Leave the white sliotar, they’re doing fine. Trial it in the League under lights in the heavy weather conditions, but I feel we’ll still be using the white sliotar in championship.»
Clare star John Conlon is in agreement and he isn’t a fan of the proposed change, which has been eight years in the pipeline with the ‘smart’ sliotar undergoing rigorous testing.
«I would have seen no problem with the white ball,» Conlon said.
«Maybe under lights a yellow ball may be better but in daylight, I wouldn’t see why to change from a white ball.»
Expert GAA analysis straight to your inbox. Sign Up Carlow hurler Eoin Nolan was adamant that the white ball should remain and insists that «we are losing our identity» with the various changes which have been made to the game in recent times.
«What a load of sh***,» Nolan wrote on Twitter. «Sliotars are white… period… it’s a traditional sport with a white sliotar being at the very core of our great game… from Mycro helmets to this, we are losing our identity… give me an old style Cooper and a white sliotar everyday.»
Four-time All-Ireland SHC final referee Brian Gavin favours the change of colour, however, given that it helps to assist umpires in spotting the ball, particularly during floodlit games.
«Anything that is going to be trialled and tested is no harm. If it’s for the betterment of vision and score detection, you’d have to welcome it. Some league games under lights, it is a little bit of an issue,» Gavin said.
«Especially on a cold night if there is a little bit of fog or frost around, the yellow sliotar would be useful.
«The most underrated people in the GAA are the umpires, they are reliable fellas and they go as a team with the referee.
«But let’s call a spade, a lot of them are over 50 and if this can help them out, why not try it?
«We’ll wait and see how it goes but at the moment if it’s going to improve it, it’s fine by me.»
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