SOUTH West Cricket Association captains expect the introduction of a white ball and coloured clothing to one-day fixtures will pose new challenges for batsmen and bowlers alike.
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The league, which has previously played one-day fixtures in whites with a red ball, announced the switch this past month in a bid to modernise the competition.
It will join the Warrnambool and District Cricket Association, which uses the combination across both of its limited overs formats.
But just how much of an impact will the switch have on games? Mortlake skipper Todd Robertson believes it will encourage teams to become more aggressive.
White balls are renowned to swing through the air less than red balls and generally lack movement after the 10-over mark of an innings.
"I think it'll change the game a little bit," Robertson said.
"We'll probably tinker with our batting order a little bit to find a settled line-up.
"Cricket has slowly been changing this way and I think it'll be a lot more aggressive."
Robertson also said it would force teams to consider how they approach bowling and fielding.
"I think a lot of spin will come into play this season," he said.
"With the ball swinging less I reckon teams will look to use more spin options.
"It'll just be a different brand of one-day cricket."
New Terang captain-coach Tyson Hay said the competition was entering a new era.
"With white ball it is going to be good for the league. It is the start of a new chapter for us and makes the league stand out a bit more," he said.
"All clubs wearing colour uniforms and the white ball will make it more interesting especially at the start of innings with the new balls. With the white one around middle overs the ball goes a bit softer where red balls hold their shape a little bit and teams will need to adapt to it quickly."
The first-year leader believes the white ball will move a lot more earlier in the innings and provide a good battle between the fielding and batting teams.
"It is going to swing more early, especially the first 10 overs," he said.
"It will make things really interesting for the fielding team and with the ball swinging on turf it will help the bowler's get good momentum while their team is up and about.
"The white ball makes a fair bit of difference and it is really exciting to be able to use it.
He continued: "With batters it's going to be about trying to get used to it, especially with openers and the top order.
"They will really try and battle against the bowler with a swinging ball. If your batters can hang around for 10-15 overs it gets a bit easier.
"The white ball will soften up then but I'm sure batters, especially openers, are still keen to have a battle with bowlers."
Hay said the club had been preparing for the season with white balls at training.
Pomborneit premiership skipper Grant Place said his club was all for coloured clothing and the use of white balls this season.
"We have been using coloured clothes in twenty20 for the last few years so it was an easy vote for us," he said.
Place said only a handful of his players had used a white ball during country week matches.
He said the new ball had value for both the batters and bowlers.
"Hopefully it swings more than the red ball as there are a couple of games a year where it swings whereas hopefully the white ball swings early before it deteriorates," he said.
"The whiter ball flies off the bat and maybe you might have the ability to score quicker with your top three batsmen and then it does soften up so hopefully with our Sri Lankan spinner (Amila Mendis) it might suit him.
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