England's dominance due to ball
England may have been ranked No.1 in Tests, but their dominance at home could be attributed to the the different ball that they use for their home Tests, Adrian Meredith says in cricketcountry.com .
Abhishek Mukherjee
25-Feb-2013
England may have been ranked No.1 in Tests, but their dominance at home could be attributed to the the different ball that they use for their home Tests, Adrian Meredith says in cricketcountry.com.
England have used a ball that was called "Duke" for several decades, but only recently has this ball been changed to be something that is quite different to what it used to be. Since 2007, something has been done to it to make it reverse swing a lot quicker than any other ball. While other balls might reverse swing after 60 or 70 overs, if prepared expertly and with exactly the right kind of bowlers, the Duke ball will reverse swing after just 20 or 30 overs - a massive difference indeed.
The "new Duke" is a lot heavier. It comes off the bat more quickly. Thus, even if the pitch isn't bouncing very much, off the bat it will bounce a lot anyway. Edges fly higher and quicker. England, who have no natural home ground advantage, have manufactured one through having a very, very different ball.