Aussie spinner unhappy with Duke ball

Quick bowlers might be happy with the Dukes ball used for the second half of the Sheffield Shield season but it’s not a sentiment shared by NSW and Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon.

Cricket Australia has again made the decision for the Dukes ball to be used in the second half of the Shield season with an eye on preparing Australian batsmen to better handle the swinging ball in England.

The difference was clear at the WACA Ground on Saturday, with Western Australia ultimately beating NSW by four wickets inside three days with neither team making more than 215 and WA’s Hilton Cartwright making the highest score of 78.

For the entire game, the Dukes ball swung markedly and Australia’s leading off-spinning wickettaker was far from impressed he had to bowl with it in preparation for the test tour of South Africa.

‘‘It would have been handy to play with the Kookaburra, I’m not going to lie. It is what it is, though, and Cricket Australia made the rules and that’s the way we’re going,’’ Lyon said.

‘‘I’m a big fan of the Kookaburra ball and I’m a big fan that if there’s something in the wicket for it to be a contest between bat and ball.

‘‘I hate when it goes too far one way whether it’s too bowler-friendly or batting-friendly. The Dukes ball did swing around a fair bit so it was a new challenge for our batters and we got found out.’’