London: Indian Arshdeep Singh during training before the third test cricket match against England, on Lord’s cricket land, in London. (PTI Photo/R Senthilkucar) (PTI07_08_2025_000260B) *** Local title *** London: The Red Dukes Ball tendency to be too soft too quickly has become a hot topic of discussion in this series. The softer ball is considered a reason why the dough with ease plundered runs.The home team and Indian captain SHUBMAN GILL pointed out and Gill said, “Even more than the playground, the ball is very soft and out of shape. If the ball is doing something, you enjoy playing.There are whispers in the English cricket that the historically pronounced seam on the Dukes ball has become a dull. Some even feel that they feel more like a kookaburra ball that has seams that match the ball.Dilip Jajodia, the owner of the company produced by Ball Dukes Ball, said they were softer behind the balls. This year he said it was more like a dry summer of 1976, when the dough in West India dominated directly through the tour. “It’s not as if I woke up one morning and decided to make balls differently. There is a standard production process. But one must also consider variable factors. The beauty of cricket is that there are so many variables in the game,” said Jajodia Toi. “Ground staff and I have shared a joke here in London. Whenever players are struggling, it goes to the playground or ball.”Jajodia believes that the preparation of the playground in England has changed over the years and the surfaces have become harder. “Even during the season out of season, curators have these tent covers (hovering covers) that do not help while maintaining moisture. This makes the surfaces dry,” Smutný.
How Jasprit Bumrah is preparing for Lord’s test – launching, bowling and lots of jokes!
According to Jajodia, there is also an urge to produce harder surfaces for T20 and one. “Now there are more matches with white balls. The pitch has become harder. You must also realize that the dough has hit the ball much harder in the test cricket these days. Battes bat aggressively and scoring is high.The struggles of the pitching with the older ball were manifested because of the lack of return swing. Jajodia said, “These days, players are wearing sets made of polyester. On the day, you may remember that Malcolm Marshall has tucked the cotton towel into his trousers, helping to polish the ball around his neck and forehead.Interestingly, the Sanspareils Greenland (SG) ball used in India also got under the same criticism a few years ago. SG worked on it and found a way to maintain hardness. Jajodia says it is in contact with the cricket council in England and Wales (ECB) and is trying to solve the problem with the International Criket Council (ICC).
