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aus+uk / uk.sport.cricket / Dukes admit 'quality issue' with batch of balls for early stages of county season

Dukes admit 'quality issue' with batch of balls for early stages of county season

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Subject: Dukes admit 'quality issue' with batch of balls for early stages of
county season
From: anywhere...@gmail.com (RH)
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by: RH - Thu, 19 May 2022 16:36 UTC

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/county-championship-2022-dukes-admit-quality-issue-with-batch-of-balls-for-early-stages-of-county-season-1315431

Manufacturers have sent out new boxes to counties after surge in number of 500-plus totals

ESPNcricinfo staff
17-May-2022

Umpires James Middlebrook and Alex Wharf inspect the ball, LV= Insurance County Championship, Division Two, Durham vs Glamorgan, The Riverside, May 14, 2022
Umpires James Middlebrook and Alex Wharf inspect the ball • MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The owner of the business which manufacturers Dukes cricket balls had admitted that "there seems to be a problem" with the batch that have been used in the opening rounds of the County Championship season, which has contributed to high scores across the country.

There have been 20 totals of 500 or more in the first 48 matches of the 2022 season, compared to only 12 across the 125 Championship games played in 2021.

In addition, there have been 36.89 runs scored for every wicket lost in the Championship in 2022 - a 28% increase on 2021, and the highest figure on record since 1990.

While flatter pitches and a relatively dry spring have both contributed, county cricketers have criticised the quality of balls used. "The balls have been shocking this year," Scott Borthwick, Durham's captain, said after the third day of his side's win against Glamorgan.

"The batch of balls are a bit different: they seem to go soft pretty quickly, and then when they go soft, they swell a bit and go out of shape. They're just not a great batch, to be honest.

"It's something to do with Dukes. They've obviously got this batch wrong. I know the seamers want them to go back to last year's batch because I think the seams are actually smaller on them as well so you get a little bit less sideways movement. I guess that's why there's so many big scores this season."

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Dukes admit 'quality issue' with batch of balls for early stages of	RH