‘Sub-standard’ Kookaburra balls disappoint players

Awais Zia’s aggressive innings of 30, laced with seven fours, was played at the picturesque Bagh-e-Jinnah in Lahore. PHOTO: SHAFIQ MALIK/EXPRESS

KARACHI: The introduction of Kookaburra balls to Twenty20 cricket by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been termed a failure by many players who termed them of ‘poor quality’ and ‘sub-standard’ after having been changed during innings.

The opinion gathered by The Express Tribune from players consists of complaints that the balls are not even close to the original Kookaburra balls they have played with in the past – regular complaints range from the ball losing colour or leather peeling off earlier than expected.

“The balls used in the National Twenty20 Cup are not even close to the quality of the original Kookaburra balls,” a national team player told The Express Tribune. “Original balls used in international cricket survive 50 overs. It’s ridiculous that a ball which costs over Rs10,000 can’t even last 20 overs. The fielders working on the ball throughout the innings then have to work on the new one again.”

Another international player said that the PCB should lodge a formal complaint with the manufacturers. He added that there were complaints in the past that ‘B-grade’ or defected balls were provided at the camps in the National Cricket Academy.

Complain to be lodge after event: PCB

Meanwhile, PCB’s domestic cricket officials have stressed that while genuine balls are being used in the event, they were surprised how quickly the balls went out of use.

“It is shocking even for us that the Kookaburra balls used in this event hasn’t responded well as we were hoping,” said a PCB official before saying that a report will be generated after the tournament which will be sent to the manufacturers along with samples.“We’re paying Rs 12,000 per ball and we need to ensure that we don’t get complaints in the future.”

Published in The Express Tribune, December 8^th, 2012.