England eye 2018 vintage Dukes balls to boost Ashes chances

Richard Gibson reports on England’s plan to use last season’s balls...

England are considering using last year’s batch of Dukes Test balls in their bid to reclaim the Ashes this summer.

Although attention has officially been switched to securing a maiden 50-over World Cup win following the surprise 2-1 away defeat to West Indies, discussions have taken place to source the remaining balls from the 2018 summer.

One of the idiosyncrasies of producing hand-stitched cricket balls is that batches vary annually and last summer’s vintage were thought to be particularly bowler-friendly, swinging and seaming lavishly for both bowling attacks throughout the England v India Test series.

That has prompted talk in the England camp to begin the series against Australia in Birmingham on August 1 with the leftovers from last year.

^{Stuart Broad and James Anderson have a combined tally of 1,012 Test wickets}

Dukes, manufactured in the UK, tend to be slightly smaller than international rivals Kookaburra and SG, have a more pronounced seam, plus a reputation to swing in a more pronounced manner and for longer.

Australia’s plans for a first series win here since 2001 have included using the Dukes for five rounds of Sheffield Shield matches and the final for the past two seasons. They were routed by the likes of James Anderson and Stuart Broad in bowler-friendly conditions on their last visit four years ago.

Despite not possessing the pace of the Australians, England’s attack will undoubtedly hold the edge if the ball moves laterally.

While the year of production is embossed on a ball by the manufacturer, it does not represent a use-by date, and an ICC spokesperson confirmed there are no restrictions exist on a match ball other than it being made to international standard and remaining unused.

This article appears in the April issue of The Cricketer which can be purchased HERE!