Calls for standard Test ball

THE Australian-made red Kookaburra ball could be turfed out of Test cricket if a proposal from the MCC world cricket committee is adopted.

The committee has called for one “standard” ball to be used around the world and the English Dukes has been raised as the preferred option.

After meeting in India last weekend, the committee also proposed a free-hit for no balls in Test cricket and a shot clock to “improve the spectacle” of the format.

Recent history has shown cricket’s law makers have been receptive to the committee’s ideas. In 2017 its proposals to reduce bat sizes and give umpires more power to punish bad player behaviour were enshrined in the laws.

The Kookaburra is used in Test cricket in seven countries, the SG ball is used in India and two different versions of the Dukes are used in England and the West Indies.

A third variety of Dukes ball is being used in the Sheffield Shield, for the third straight season, with mixed results.

With Test cricket about to embark on its maiden Test Championship, beginning with the Ashes in August, the committee wants one standard ball.

A formal change is unlikely to be made before the Ashes begins and a Kookaburra spokesman said if officials were looking for a standard ball there was only one choice.

“Kookaburra currently make a standardised ball … it’s adaptable to a range of conditions and allows all elements of the game to shine,” the spokeperson said. “We know that other manufacturers make different versions of their ball for different countries and conditions, which is contradictory of the (idea) of standardisation.”