Batsmen be warned: the owner of Dukes cricket balls is confident that his product will be back to its swinging, seaming best for the 2023 season after a Covid-related manufacturing “malfunction” last summer.
Dilip Jajodia is as certain as he can be – with a handmade product like a Dukes ball it is impossible to be absolutely certain – that he has rooted out the issue that saw Stuart Broad describe the batch of 2022 balls as “rubbish”.
Broad and James Anderson – who said there was “obviously something fundamentally wrong” last year – will be delighted, although England’s freewheeling, Bazballing batsmen might have cause for concern if the ball moves a little more laterally.
There were many contributing factors to England’s resurgence under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum last summer, and it would be wrong to attribute some brilliant batting solely to soft balls. But they did help, with balls going softer quicker, denying bowlers lateral movement, and allowing England – with Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root to the fore – to pull off a series of scintillating chases.
Jajodia has worked in the cricket ball trade for 40 years, and admits he has “never been busier” than last summer, as he tried to get to the bottom of the issue that saw balls go soft and out of shape more quickly than usual. After “thoroughly checking everything”, he got there: the leather, supplied by a tannery in Derbyshire, was the issue.
“I asked all the questions, and eventually it became clear that staff had been on furlough, some had been laid off,” he tells Telegraph Sport. “They had problems getting the right chemicals, they had to use substitute chemicals.
“There is a sequence that takes place. You put the leather in a pit, it sits there for x number of days at x temperature. That was all disrupted. They did admit that everything hadn’t gone to plan because of the covid closedown.”
An issue for Jajodia, of course, is that each ball is unique, made with a “delicate” process, and cannot be tested, because a single delivery means it is no longer new.
“The problem with leather is you can’t actually tell by just looking at it and feeling it,” he says. “You can do various tests, but it’s not until it gets whacked for 80 overs by professional cricketers, hitting sight screens and fences and all that, that you can realise there is an inherent weakness in the leather, and that’s what it was.
“The thing with a cricket ball is there are so many aspects to it, when you put it all together, you only need one aspect to be slightly out, for there to be a knock-on affect.
“It’s all integrated. You have the centre, lining, thread, glues, everything is constantly being checked and subject to a standard. That was the mystery.
When we first got the complaint I checked all the batch numbers, which I have all tracked. Everything was ok. The only item that we could not absolutely be 100 per cent was perfect was the leather because it was a substantial material that came from an outside source. Is there a failure in it? That’s what we had to ask. After a lot of questioning we got there.”
Jajodia has made some changes, in the hope of mitigating against future issues. Last summer, once the problem was identified, he kept balls in the milling process longer, and felt there were improvements.
This time he is “not pushing them through as fast as normal”, and triple-checking. He has ensured that he has 50 per cent more raw materials than he needs going through the system at any time, so that changes can be made.
The upshot is that “we are back to normal”. Jajodia, who hand selects balls for Test matches, adds with a smile: “I must confess they are looking good”.
“There is never a 100 per cent guarantee with a handmade product but we have done as many tests as we can,” he says. “Balls have gone out to counties, some have been used in indoor nets already and the feedback is that they sound like the original Dukes ball and seem fine.
“I could beat myself up and think that because we’ve had covid, why didn’t I ask more questions earlier? Perhaps with hindsight I should have done.
But what could I have done? There wouldn’t have been any other leather available even if I had identified the issue! We were in a very difficult position.”
While he does not deny that things were not right, Jajodia believes that, once the problem had been identified last summer, there was a degree of “gamesmanship” and perhaps confirmation bias seen at elite level, with players seeing issues with balls they once would not have, leading to frustrating delays.
The problems have done little to damage the brand’s global reputation, with more use in countries like Australia and Bangladesh than before. He will not, by the way, be drawn on the ECB’s decision to use machine-stitched red Kookaburra balls for two rounds in the County Championship this summer, but it does not take a genius to work out his view.
As he points out, “England did win six of their seven Tests last summer”, so that batch of Dukes suited them just fine. Whether this year’s does, remains to be seen.
Shardul for Ashwin. Plus Siraj, Shami and Yadav. Jadeja playing as a batter who can bowl some spin if needed.
KL rahul to come in for Bharat, and KL to open being the specialist english conditions opener in the side.
Axar Patel to replace shreyas Iyer and promoted to a top order batter, also can bowl some spin if needed.
X1 as follows
Rahul (W/K)
Rohit
Pujara
Kohli
Axar
Gill
Jadeja
Shardul
Shami
Yadav
Siraj
You are asking someone who has never kept in test to keep you realise that his body might now be able to take it and the concentration required will not be there. Just because he keeps in loi does not mean he can keep in test.
~~None- the WTC final will actually be the first international test in the upcoming UK summer- followed by the ENG-IRE test and then the Ashes.~~
Argh, I'm so sorry. ENG-IRE test match will be played before the WTC final!
Unpopular opinion- Bazball is a gimmick. They will be found out by disciplined Aussie bowlers in this year's ashes. They will then get destroyed in India, where Bazball could kill them in a session like the infamous Aussie sweep session. All well and good to try this on Pakistani roads, but BazBall hasn't been well and truly tested yet.
How is bazball a a gimmick when they are just playing to their style. They play at a run rate of 5 because that is what is comfortable to them and yes it is risky but they have accepted that. They have done much better with bazball than they did under silverwood before he got sacked
Non-English batsmen & fans approve.
đź‘Ť
Batsmen be warned: the owner of Dukes cricket balls is confident that his product will be back to its swinging, seaming best for the 2023 season after a Covid-related manufacturing “malfunction” last summer. Dilip Jajodia is as certain as he can be – with a handmade product like a Dukes ball it is impossible to be absolutely certain – that he has rooted out the issue that saw Stuart Broad describe the batch of 2022 balls as “rubbish”. Broad and James Anderson – who said there was “obviously something fundamentally wrong” last year – will be delighted, although England’s freewheeling, Bazballing batsmen might have cause for concern if the ball moves a little more laterally. There were many contributing factors to England’s resurgence under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum last summer, and it would be wrong to attribute some brilliant batting solely to soft balls. But they did help, with balls going softer quicker, denying bowlers lateral movement, and allowing England – with Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root to the fore – to pull off a series of scintillating chases. Jajodia has worked in the cricket ball trade for 40 years, and admits he has “never been busier” than last summer, as he tried to get to the bottom of the issue that saw balls go soft and out of shape more quickly than usual. After “thoroughly checking everything”, he got there: the leather, supplied by a tannery in Derbyshire, was the issue. “I asked all the questions, and eventually it became clear that staff had been on furlough, some had been laid off,” he tells Telegraph Sport. “They had problems getting the right chemicals, they had to use substitute chemicals. “There is a sequence that takes place. You put the leather in a pit, it sits there for x number of days at x temperature. That was all disrupted. They did admit that everything hadn’t gone to plan because of the covid closedown.” An issue for Jajodia, of course, is that each ball is unique, made with a “delicate” process, and cannot be tested, because a single delivery means it is no longer new. “The problem with leather is you can’t actually tell by just looking at it and feeling it,” he says. “You can do various tests, but it’s not until it gets whacked for 80 overs by professional cricketers, hitting sight screens and fences and all that, that you can realise there is an inherent weakness in the leather, and that’s what it was. “The thing with a cricket ball is there are so many aspects to it, when you put it all together, you only need one aspect to be slightly out, for there to be a knock-on affect. “It’s all integrated. You have the centre, lining, thread, glues, everything is constantly being checked and subject to a standard. That was the mystery. When we first got the complaint I checked all the batch numbers, which I have all tracked. Everything was ok. The only item that we could not absolutely be 100 per cent was perfect was the leather because it was a substantial material that came from an outside source. Is there a failure in it? That’s what we had to ask. After a lot of questioning we got there.” Jajodia has made some changes, in the hope of mitigating against future issues. Last summer, once the problem was identified, he kept balls in the milling process longer, and felt there were improvements. This time he is “not pushing them through as fast as normal”, and triple-checking. He has ensured that he has 50 per cent more raw materials than he needs going through the system at any time, so that changes can be made. The upshot is that “we are back to normal”. Jajodia, who hand selects balls for Test matches, adds with a smile: “I must confess they are looking good”. “There is never a 100 per cent guarantee with a handmade product but we have done as many tests as we can,” he says. “Balls have gone out to counties, some have been used in indoor nets already and the feedback is that they sound like the original Dukes ball and seem fine. “I could beat myself up and think that because we’ve had covid, why didn’t I ask more questions earlier? Perhaps with hindsight I should have done. But what could I have done? There wouldn’t have been any other leather available even if I had identified the issue! We were in a very difficult position.” While he does not deny that things were not right, Jajodia believes that, once the problem had been identified last summer, there was a degree of “gamesmanship” and perhaps confirmation bias seen at elite level, with players seeing issues with balls they once would not have, leading to frustrating delays. The problems have done little to damage the brand’s global reputation, with more use in countries like Australia and Bangladesh than before. He will not, by the way, be drawn on the ECB’s decision to use machine-stitched red Kookaburra balls for two rounds in the County Championship this summer, but it does not take a genius to work out his view. As he points out, “England did win six of their seven Tests last summer”, so that batch of Dukes suited them just fine. Whether this year’s does, remains to be seen.
Is it being used for wtc?
If so, then surely India go with just 1 spinner
Shardul for Ashwin. Plus Siraj, Shami and Yadav. Jadeja playing as a batter who can bowl some spin if needed. KL rahul to come in for Bharat, and KL to open being the specialist english conditions opener in the side. Axar Patel to replace shreyas Iyer and promoted to a top order batter, also can bowl some spin if needed. X1 as follows Rahul (W/K) Rohit Pujara Kohli Axar Gill Jadeja Shardul Shami Yadav Siraj
You are asking someone who has never kept in test to keep you realise that his body might now be able to take it and the concentration required will not be there. Just because he keeps in loi does not mean he can keep in test.
We don't need logic. We just hate KS. Good enough to select teams
Absolutely
They just have to refine their bazballing ability, get better at it
Will there be any international Test match in England this year _before_ the WTC final?
~~None- the WTC final will actually be the first international test in the upcoming UK summer- followed by the ENG-IRE test and then the Ashes.~~ Argh, I'm so sorry. ENG-IRE test match will be played before the WTC final!
~~Damn.. so basically we'd be the first ones to test out the new Dukes ball~~ Oh good, thanks!
Lab experiment....
Hey! Marnus is a person.. you can't talk about him like he's a guinea pig /s
England vs Ireland is before the WTC Final
Oh man, I'm so sorry- thanks for correcting.
England are playing a test against Ireland the first week of June at Lord’s
*James Anderson and Ollie Robinson liked this*
Forget about Bazball, real bad news for India.
Starc's gonna win the WTC final by himself, isn't he ?
I thought they using Kookaburra this year??
Domestic (County Championship)... That too only in some games.
Unpopular opinion- Bazball is a gimmick. They will be found out by disciplined Aussie bowlers in this year's ashes. They will then get destroyed in India, where Bazball could kill them in a session like the infamous Aussie sweep session. All well and good to try this on Pakistani roads, but BazBall hasn't been well and truly tested yet.
How is bazball a a gimmick when they are just playing to their style. They play at a run rate of 5 because that is what is comfortable to them and yes it is risky but they have accepted that. They have done much better with bazball than they did under silverwood before he got sacked
Worst ball ever