After widespread complaints and frequent ball changes across the first three Tests of the India vs England series, the makers of the Dukes ball have finally acknowledged the issue. Dilip Jajodia, owner of British Cricket Balls Ltd, has promised a full inspection of the problematic balls, which have repeatedly gone out of shape and disrupted the flow of matches.
Dukes Drama at Lord’s
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has begun collecting the used balls from the series and will send them back to Dukes for examination. “We will take it away, inspect and then start talking to the tanner, talking about all of the raw materials—everything,” Jajodia told BBC Sport. “Everything we do will be reviewed and then if we think some changes need to be made or tightened up, we will.”
The third Test at Lord’s brought the issue to boiling point, with five ball changes during England’s first innings alone. India’s second new ball was replaced within 10.2 overs on Day 2, prompting an angry reaction from Shubman Gill. “The ball is getting out of shape too much. That is something I’ve never seen,” vice-captain Rishabh Pant had said earlier. “It is definitely irritating for the players because every ball plays differently.”
The ball’s durability has long been a point of pride for Dukes, traditionally praised for its seam and swing. However, recent years have seen a dip in quality, particularly with balls going soft far earlier than the 80-over mark.
Even England captain Ben Stokes voiced concerns before the Lord’s Test, saying, “Whenever we have touring teams visiting, there is an issue with the balls going soft and completely out of shape. I don’t even think the rings that we use are Dukes rings. It isn’t ideal. Every bowling team seems to struggle with it, and it seemed a big issue last week at Edgbaston.”
Jajodia believes a combination of factors, including raw material inconsistency, post-Covid production challenges, and modern batting demands, could be contributing to the issue. “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 more,” he explained.
The ball used for Test matches is decided by the host board. Whereas this is the Dukes in England, Tests in India are played with a SG ball, while the Kookaburra is used in Australia.
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