The debate about the quality of the Dukes balls being used in the Test series between England and India has been reignited after an extraordinary first session at Lord’s when the tourists had the ball changed twice – with one lasting only 48 deliveries.
The first change came 46 deliveries into the day, in which time Jasprit Bumrah had taken three wickets and, alongside Mohammed Siraj, looked consistently threatening – and just 10.3 overs after the second new ball had been taken – and was described by Nasser Hussain on Sky Sports as “a bizarre thing to do”. After using the replacement for only 20 deliveries a drinks break was extended while Shubman Gill angrily remonstrated with the umpires about its quality. Siraj was heard on the stump mike asking: “This is a 10-over old ball? Seriously?”
That ball lasted just 28 more deliveries before it failed to pass through the umpires’ measuring hoops and was itself replaced, England having scored 30 without loss during its short taste of action. After just five deliveries with the second replacement India complained about it, too – though it then remained in use for the last 13 overs of England’s first innings.
Both sides had criticised the Dukes balls in the aftermath of the second Test and the buildup to this third meeting. India’s Rishabh Pant described them as “a big problem” while Gill, their captain, said the game was “losing its essence” as bowlers toiled with balls of varying quality that go soft quickly. “Every bowling team seems to struggle with it,” said England’s Ben Stokes.
On Friday Stuart Broad said there was a long-term issue with the quality of Dukes balls: “The cricket ball should be like a fine wicketkeeper. Barely noticed,” he wrote on X. “We are having to talk about the ball too much because it is such an issue and being changed virtually every innings. Unacceptable. Feels like it’s been five years now. Dukes have a problem. They need to fix it.”
On Sky, Hussain said: “There is a serious issue with the Dukes ball. Both captains talked about it before this game. We’ve seen it in the last few years, the ball going out of shape.”
But he also criticised India’s decision to push for a first ball change. “In that first hour Bumrah was unplayable, they had a Dukes ball that was doing something. Why would you change a ball that is doing something to a random ball? Why take the gamble? I thought that was a bizarre thing to do.”
Earlier this week Dilip Jajodia, owner of Dukes, blamed the increased power of modern batters for the balls’ premature decline. “The bats have changed, they’re very powerful, the players are stronger, they’re hitting the ball out of the ground far more often,” Jajodia told the Indian Express. “It’s a miracle they’re not changed every two hours.”
