Kookaburra worries over bats and balls

Kookaburra, the company already under administrative pressure for producing Ricky Ponting's bat, is battling to secure the ball rights for the Super Series in October. The company has an exclusive arrangement with Cricket Australia to supply the products in Australia, but the ICC has confirmed it will look at other options for the three one-day matches and the Test against the World XI.

While Kookaburra's presence on Down Under grounds has been as regular as the birds on farm fences, the ICC can overlook the local agreement and choose other brands for the games in Sydney and Melbourne. "There is a great deal of interest from other ball suppliers for the Johnnie Walker Super Series and the ICC has to look at all of its options," Brendan McClements, the ICC spokesman, said in the Herald Sun.

The decision holds the spotlight on a company that is under investigation by MCC for using a carbon graphite strip in the bat used by Ponting. Ponting has laughed off the controversy and the reaction from Kookaburra and Sam Halvorsen, Ponting's manager, has frustrated Malcolm Speed, the ICC chief executive. Speed said, "Comments from a manufacturer and a player agent suggesting the MCC should not be spending time fulfilling this important role are extremely disappointing."