I have been asked to post the following comment by Dr Edward Turner
 
I am sure that many players would like to express their opinions on these twosubjects. Should there be one standard ball for indoor use and anotherstandard ball for outdoor use?  Until a standard is set for the indoor ball &the outdoor ball, I do not  see how any standards can be set for the paddle.
 
Regarding paddles, perhaps, instead of "deflection", it would be moremeaningful to specify that the surface should be smooth & non-sticky & that aball when dropped froma certain height would have to bounce up a certaindistance. Just thoughts to start a Forum discussion.