England uses Duke balls in Test cricket for its home matches. India uses its own SG ball. And the rest of the world uses Australia’s Kookaburra ball.
All three balls have different characteristics. Kookaburra balls are the hardest and retain their shape. However, they offer very little help to the bowlers and on flatter wickets, they lose their seam quickly and struggle to aid spinners or seamers. The SG ball tends to go out of shape quickly and deteriorates alarmingly, making it an unreliable ball.
Which brings us to the English Duke. Widely considered as the best all-round cricket ball, the Duke has a pronounced seam that last longers, retains the shine for a greater duration and gives enough encouragement to seamers and spinners.
Which is why after the pulsating first Test between India and England, there were suggestions that Duke balls should be used across the globe.
“It would be nice if all Test cricket is played with Duke ball,” England coach Trevor Bayliss said. “It means you will always get a bit of sideways movement.”
Test cricket in Eng is in my view consistently the best contest between bat and ball. The dukes balls plays a part in this, but so do groundsman willing to produce a 'fair' wicket. It is these types of games and match conditions that would allow Test cricket to thrive everywhere.
— Ed Cowan (@eddiecowan) August 3, 2018
And Duke balls offer a fair chance to everyone. With the Kookaburra, finger spinners can almost forget any help on flat surfaces once the seam goes and swing becomes almost non-existent.
As officials scramble for ideas to maintain interest levels in Test cricket, the idea of using Duke balls across the globe – suggested by Mike Atherton – makes great sense. You never know, even the traditional flat tracks in Australia and parts of the sub-continent might begin to see results with both seamers and spinners in the mix.
.@nassercricket says the first #ENGvIND Test was a great template for Test cricket – but he believes Thursday starts and the Dukes ball being used around the world are a must.
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) August 4, 2018
Watch highlights from an Edgbaston cracker here 👉 https://t.co/PzqVF4AKKZ pic.twitter.com/94HWq3kQiL
