Dukes and Kookaburra pink ball controversy sees England vs Australia war of words start three months early

Dukes’ pink ball will be used for the first ever day night Test in this country next week, when England meet the West Indies at Edgbaston

The pink ball has sparked a war of words both at home and Down Under (Getty)

The head of Dukes has rubbished Kookaburra’s claim that the Aussies’ pink ball is way ahead of its English rival.

Shannon Gill, Kookaburra’s head of communications, said this weekend that the feedback they had received from Australian players in the County Championship suggested that the pink Dukes ball used in the recent round of matches was five years behind its Kookaburra equivalent.

But Dilip Jadojia has dismissed that assessment and believes the Aussie company, which has enjoyed a monopoly on the supply of Test match balls to Australia, South Africa and New Zealand since 1946, is running scared.

Dukes’ pink ball will be used for the first ever day night Test in this country next week, when England meet the West Indies at Edgbaston.

And despite Kookaburra trying to muscle in, Jadojia is confident that it will pass what promises to be a stiff exam.

“If anyone knows anything about the way cricket is organised, then you’ll know you’re not going to get a ball swapped 10 days before a Test match,” Jadojia tells Independent Sport. “We are actually organised in England, we have things under control.

“Do Kookaburra think the authorities are going to listen to what they’ve said about the Dukes and suddenly change over? It’s utter madness.”

Dukes have already been making inroads into the Australian market, with the company’s ball being used in the second half of the most recent Sheffield Shield season.

It also has a number of influential advocates Down Under, including former Aussie Test batsman Ed Cowan. Back in February, the New South Wales opener, even went as far as to call for the Dukes to be used in Test Cricket Down Under in place of the Kookaburra.


 The Kookaburra has been widely used Down Under 
 (Getty)

That said, there was a certain amount of criticism levelled at the Dukes’ pink ball used during the first day night round of County Championship matches, with some players claiming the ball went soft far more quickly than its red equivalent.

Jajodia, however, says that he believes the ball held up well under lights that were, for the most part, unnecessary in June.

“Visual was not really an issue, no-one said they couldn’t see it because it was pretty bright anyway,” he says. “The way the games panned out also didn’t suggest there was too much of an issue. Some games had big scores, some had lowish scores, bowlers did well and batsmen did well – there was nothing unusual.

“Nothing really pointed to anything being drastically different. The ECB’s general view was that there was nothing to be concerned about. There was the odd comment that the ball appeared to go soft. Before I supply the balls, I’m banging them on bats all the time but the last batch that came through sounded a little bit harder, not a lot but a little.


 The Dukes has been introduced into the county game this summer 
 (Getty)

“Let’s see what happens in the Test match. I’ll be at Edgbaston for two days so I’ll be watching very closely to see how things go.”

The game in Birmingham will be the fifth day-night Test in the format’s 140 year history and the first played with a Dukes ball. The previous four – three of which have been played in Australia and one which was played in Dubai – have all used the Kookaburra. For Dukes, which produced its first ball as far back as 1760, it will represent an historic first. And for Kookaburra it will represent another unwelcome incursion into their territory.

“I was in Abu Dhabi when the MCC played Middlesex for the season opener back in March,” he says. “I monitored the balls at each interval and, quite frankly, the issue of softness didn’t come into it at all.

“There are so many variables with cricket balls that to try and get a common consensus is almost impossible.


 The pink ball heads to Edgbaston later this summer 
 (Getty)

“At the end of a Test series, no-one turns around and says ‘these Dukes balls played well, didn’t they’. I have to accept that no news is good news.

“This (day-night Test) is an experiment and people will expect miracles but I think you have to give it a bit of time. I think the colour is perfect but if there are lessons to be learnt then they’ll be learnt. My next mission is the white ball and I think Kookaburra are concerned because they dominate white ball cricket worldwide.”

The Ashes may still be three months off but the war of words between England and Australia has already begun.