Cricket: Dukes drama continues in third India-England Test
Dukes ball at centre of attention at Lord’s Test
India’s new Test captain Shubman Gill was unable to hide his frustration on Day 2 of the ongoing third Test against England at the Home of Cricket, though his anger was not related to his team or his opponents, but rather over the Dukes ball being used in the match.
The Dukes ball has been used in Test matches in England for over a century, and has stood the test of time due to its ability to retain its shape and character for a longer period of time than others, such as the Kookaburra Turf White cricket balls used in the Indian Premier League.
However, the Dukes ball being used during the current series between the Three Lions and the Men in Blue has been surrounded by controversy since the first match at Headingley, with both teams criticising that it has been losing shape and becoming soft far too quickly.
Ben Stokes and co were vocal in their criticism of the ball in the first two matches, while it was the visiting side that was displeased on Friday at Lord’s, with Gill requesting that the umpires change the ball after just 10.4 overs of use.
Match official Paul Reiffel confirmed that the ball was unsuitable to use after an inspection and called for the box of replacements, but despite a “new” ball being handed to the visitors, the Indian skipper was still unsatisfied and was seen in a fairly heated debate with Sharfuddoula Saikat shortly after.
It was later revealed that Gill and pace bowler Mohammed Siraj did not feel that the replacement ball felt or looked like the one that was withdrawn from the match, but the umpires were unwilling to entertain any further arguments and asked them to get on with the match.
However, it did not take long before conversations between players and officials restarted, in fact, just eight overs later, Gill requested another change of ball, which was granted after the one in use failed the ring test.
Owner of British Cricket Balls Ltd arrives at Lord’s
Amid the ongoing controversy surrounding the Dukes ball, Dilip Jajodia, the owner of British Cricket Balls Ltd, the company that manufactures the Dukes, decided to visit Lord’s on Friday to discuss the concerns of the players and match officials regarding the state of the match balls.
However, Jajodia defended the Dukes ball, stating that several factors can influence any ball’s performance. The 81-year-old carried with him a box of Dukes balls of varying conditions to illustrate his point. He said:
“Obviously, we listen to comments and observations. But this (the ball going out of shape and getting softer) is not something unusual, it's been happening ever since cricket has been played. Not everything is static, it's not an engineered product in that sense.”
Jajodia went on to elaborate several factors that he feels need to be taken into consideration, including the leather used, the human element (since the Dukes is hand-stitched), as well as the fact that harder bats and flatter pitches also have a major impact on the ball’s condition.
Notably, the British Cricket Balls Ltd owner put forward a potential solution, suggesting that it may be worth cricketing bodies considering changing balls every 60 overs instead of the current 80 overs, while also hinting that the extremely warm conditions in England may be causing the ball to expand more than usual.
