Complaints over its general condition have been frustratingly prominent but the real issue is red-ball cricket has drastically changed
And so it came to pass, an hour into the third day’s play, the first sight of Umpire Paul Reiffel fiddling with his ring-piece, brandishing his ball handcuffs and spending five minutes of an extended towel and chill break worrying about gauge, swelling and improper engorgement.
Ball anxiety has been a frustratingly prominent feature of the England-India Test summer. Has any other series been so defined by concerns over the ball? Not chicanery or tampering, but complaints, bitching and even punishable dissent over its general condition and the possible need to change it?
Written by Barney Ronay at Lord’s
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/jul/12/cricket-dukes-ball-england-india-test-series under the title “Ball bother is dominating the India series but the Dukes is not the problem | Barney Ronay”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
