Follow UsThe drama with the Dukes balls, which began at the start of India’s tour of England in June this year, has continued well into July as well. In the latest episode, the Indian team management is seeking the International Cricket Council (ICC)’s involvement in picking the two new balls by the captains of the teams at the start of the match.
They also want ICC to define the age of the ball that will be used as a replacement ball if a new ball goes out of shape, instead of keeping a vague ‘as old as’ filter.
Citing the issue at Lord’s where, apparently, the ball given to India to replace the one which was 10 overs old, was a 30-overs-old one, a team official said that even after objecting to it, they had to keep playing with the given ball only.
It was because the umpires did not have a 10-over-old ball, and once the ball was changed, they did not allow India to ask for the previous ball.
“At Lord’s, after about 10 overs, the Dukes ball lost its shape, something that has been happening so often in the series. The ball failed to pass through the rings that the umpires carry on the field to check if the ball is uniformly spherical. However, the umpires didn’t have a ball that was 10 overs old, so the Indian team at a crucial moment of the match got a ball that was 30–35 overs old,” Indian Express quoted an official as saying.
“When you ask for a ball change, you aren’t told about the age of the replacement you will be getting. At Lord’s, we weren’t told that the replacement would be 30 to 35 overs old. If we were told, we would have continued with the deformed ball that was used for 10 overs. The ICC needs to intervene. This rule needs to be changed,” he added.
The ball change did hurt India as they had got three crucial wickets with the new ball, which was changed after 10 overs. Bumrah had the better of Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes in a span of 14 balls and was looking seemingly dangerous. But once the ball was changed, things got better for England.
From 271/7, they got 387, thanks to an 84-run stand between Jamie Smith (51) and Brydon Carse (56).
The Indian official also talked about the process of picking balls ahead of the Test and how India had the rough end of the stick there as well. The fourth umpire offers the ball to both the captains to pick two to start the game. The fourth umpire is usually from the host country, and India wants the match referee’s involvement.
“I am not alleging anything, but when we asked for the darker ball, we were told that was the ball England had selected as their second new ball. The right thing would be to have this ball selected in the match referee’s room and not in the dressing room with the local umpire as the only official present,” said the match official.