Follow UsThe Dukes ball drama continues to travel across the England-India Test series. Ahead of the start of the fourth Test in Manchester on July 23, the manufacturers of the ball-the British Cricket Balls Ltd have acted upon the request of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). The manufacturers will recall as many used balls as possible to study the problem in detail.
“We will take it away, inspect it and then start talking to the tanner, talking about all the raw materials – everything. Everything we do will be reviewed and then if we think some changes need to be made or tightened up, we will,” Dilip Jajodia, chair of the manufacturing company, was quoted as saying by BBC Sport.
While balls in England hardly last the full 80 overs, this series has seen them changed as early as the 11th over of the first innings, which spurred a controversy regarding the durability of the handmade balls, which have been almost as old as the game itself.
Jajodia, who bought the company from Gray-Nicolls in 1987, also talked about his limitations as a manufacturer, especially after Covid-19, as tanneries all around England have almost stopped hand work and there is literally just one tanner left that does the job for the company.
“There is literally almost one tanner left that does cricket ball leather, so there’s not a choice. You have to work with the tannery to make sure that they produce what you want and by and large they do,” Jajodia explained.
Other than Shubman Gill’s animated chat with the umpire during the Lord’s Test regarding the ball change, there have been several criticisms aimed at the ball, including those from the England camp.
“The cricket ball should be like a fine wicketkeeper – barely noticed. We are having to talk about the ball too much because it is such an issue and is being changed virtually every innings. Unacceptable. It has been like this for five years now. Dukes have a problem. They need to fix it.” Former England international turned commentator, Stuart Broad wrote on X during the Lord’s Test.
Joe Root, the most experienced England player part of the series, suggested a solution to the Duke ball issue.
“If you want to keep getting the ball changed, each team gets three challenges every 80 overs and that’s it. But the rings have to be the right size, not too big. That would be a nice way of compromising and saying it is not all on the manufacturer. You cannot just keep asking and wasting time and slowing the game down,” Root was quoted as saying by Wisden.
England lead the five-match series 2-1 heading to Manchester, where India are yet to win a Test match in their cricketing history.