Latest news with #DilipJajodia
Indian Express
22-07-2025
- Sport
- Indian Express
Dukes balls getting softer could be down to shortage of a particular breed of cows, says owner
The reason Dukes Ball getting softer in the Test series between India and England could be the shortage of hide from a particular breed of cows called Angus Heights, that comes under the Angus group of cattle. 'In the olden days, I could specify, I want Angus Heights – can't do that any more,' Dilip Jajodia, the owner of Dukes told The Telegraph. The ball being changed has been such a recurrent sight that Jajodia has been facing a sustained storm of criticism. He explains his angst: 'A lot of slaughterhouses have closed down. The tannery could insist that they got a certain breed of the animal. These days, you're lucky if you get what you're asking for, a certain thickness of height. Those are day-to-day problems which we have to cope with,' he says. The quality of the leather is important for the ball's quality and longevity, helping the sphere keep its shape, hardness and durability. The best leather comes from Angus Heights, or better known as the Aberdeen Angus, fed in luscious Scottish and Irish grass. But due to cross-breeding and huge export demand, procuring their hide in wholesale quantities has been difficult. So rare that according to Times London, farmers based in Angus are reviving purebred Aberdeen Angus cows by creating a herd using sperm frozen more than 50 years ago. The Anguses are sturdy, shiny, climate resistant and durable, researchers note. They have a broad and long backbone—the finest leather for Test cricket balls comes from the hide along the backbone. Leather for lower grade balls is taken further away from the backbone. In an interview with this newspaper, he had explained his situation. 'We are grappling with raw materials which are slightly variable. No two cows are the same, so one has to take all these things into account. Human beings are involved in making the product and so, there might be some slight knock-on effect on balls. Just empty your brain, picture that these balls are getting hit all day,' he explained. 'It is a miracle they're not changed after every two hours. We keep everything under review, but I can't change anything dramatically. If something is wrong, we have to identify it and get it right the next time. It is not possible to make any product with natural materials like an engineered product like steel. They would have a certain thickness of steel, cut into a machine. Like you can make two cars with the exact specification. Cricket balls are not engineered products, this is a craft product,' he added. How they treat the leather plays a significant role too. The hides are processed at the tannery Spire Leather in Chesterfield. Jajodia fears the ineptness of the staff. 'Since Covid, there was a big disruption to production. Some of these boys who work in the industry have got a lot of stuff in their head. And I keep asking 'has it all been passed on?' It may be, if there is a problem with the leather, we have to get the old boys back to look at it, out of retirement,' he says.
News18
22-07-2025
- Sport
- News18
Dukes Ball Debate Heats Up Ahead of 4th India-England Test
Dukes Ball Debate Heats Up Ahead of 4th India-England Test | Dilip Jajodia Speaks to CNN-News18 Last Updated: Videos World As India prepares for the crucial 4th Test against England, the spotlight returns to the Dukes ball. Is it fair? Is it consistent? On , News18's @sanjaysuri88 speaks exclusively to Dilip Jajodia—the man behind the Dukes his take on the controversy, the evolution of the red ball, and what makes the Dukes different from the SG and Kookaburra.
Indian Express
19-07-2025
- Sport
- Indian Express
IND vs ENG: ‘If we think some changes need to be made or tightened up, we will': Dukes ball owner on Dukes ball being reviewed
While the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy has seen its ups and downs with India now trailing the series 1-2 against England, the sees had also seen the regular change of Dukes balls, the balls used for the five Test match series in England. In the three Tests so far, the ball has been changed well before the stipulated 80 overs with England's first innings at Lord's seeing five ball changes due to going out of shape with one ball being switched after only 10.2 overs on the second day of the Test. In a latest development as reported by BCC, England and Wales Cricket Board will collect as many used Duke balls as possible and return them to the ball manufacturer by the end of this week to review the cause behind the issue. It was confirmed by Dilip Jajodia, owner of British Cricket Balls Ltd, the manufacturer of Duke balls, to the BBC and the owner also shared that everything will be reviewed in the manufacturing process. 'We will take it away, inspect and then start talking to the tanner, talking about all of the raw materials – everything. Everything we do will be reviewed and then if we think some changes need to be made or tightened up, we will,' Jajodia told BBC Sport. With India using the SG Balls and Australia using the Kookaburra balls, England has seen the usage of Dukes ball, which have benefited in production since 1760. Recent years have seen the Dukes ball going soft prematurely before the 80-over mark in Test cricket with the most recent incidents coming during the Lord's Test. After England won the toss and decided to bat first, the first innings saw the ball being changed five times with one ball being changed after 10.2 overs. It also saw an agitated Indian skipper Shubman Gill arguing with the on-field umpires and later some of the former cricket players too shared their views on the regular ball change slowing the game. Former England bowler Stuart Broad had called out the problem with the Dukes ball. 'The cricket ball should be like a fine wicketkeeper – barely noticed. We are having to talk about the ball too much because it is such an issue and is being changed virtually every innings. Unacceptable. It has been like this for five years now. Dukes have a problem. They need to fix it.' Broad had posted on X. Jajodia, who had bought British Cricket Balls Ltd from Grey-Nicolls in 1987, talked about the challenges being faced in manufacturing the Dukes ball. One is the raw materials which are natural and then have to be moulded and put together by a human being. Obviously the major aspect of a cricket ball is the leather that holds the whole thing together, and if the fibres that form the animal skin have got some sort of weakness or inherent problem that's something we can only find if it fails by further inspection and investigation. Covid did have a very serious effect on all sorts of businesses. In the whole process of tanning leather I would expect changes in personnel, whether either they passed away or decided that it was all too difficult. There is literally almost one tanner left that does cricket ball leather so there's not a choice. You have to work with the tannery to make sure that they produce what you want and by and large they do,' said the owner. Post the Lord's Test, former England skipper Joe Root also had shown his discontent over constant ball changes and blamed the issue for slowing the game. 'I personally think that if you want to keep getting the ball changed then each team gets three challenges every 80 overs and that's it. But the rings have to be the right size, not too big. That would be a nice way of compromising and saying it is not all on the manufacturer. Sometimes these things happen, but you cannot just keep asking and wasting time and slowing the game down at the same time,'Root had told Widen. With ECB now keen on getting to the cause of the issue and pushing for the resolvement of the ball going soft prematurely, Jajodia also talked about the need to be patient while the issues are found with the consultations with the ECB 'The unique nature of cricket is that you can't test that ball before it goes into play so therefore, if it fails, it fails in use and at the very highest level it's in the glare of publicity. All we can do to check everything as thoroughly as we can during the whole process of making the ball. At the end of the day, we've had three Test matches, they've all been good games. They've been interesting games. We should be very cautious and not be looking for drastic and dramatic changes. This is a product that's been going since 1760. There is no snap answer, all you can do is to go through the routine of everything that you do and try and identify,' said Jajodia.
NDTV
19-07-2025
- Sport
- NDTV
"We Will Take It Away": Owners of 'Irritating' Dukes Ball, At The Centre Of Controversy In India vs England Series, Gives In
Some changes might be loading after huge complaints against the Dukes ball. Following frustration of players over Dukes ball going out of shape and softer way too quickly in the first three Tests of India, England series, owner of the brand, Dilip Jajodia, has said that he could make the ball with a "really, really hard at the centre", but it would "break bats and fingers". Players from both the sides have expressed their frustration with the ball going too soft and out of shape quickly during the series. The ball, known for producing some unbelievable movement and lasting long, has now been changed many times during these three Tests and has been smashed really hard for very long times by batters across both teams on pitches that have been batting-friendly for the most part. "We will take it away, inspect and then start talking to the tanner, talking about all of the raw materials - everything," Dilip Jajodia, owner of British Cricket Balls Ltd, who make the Dukes, told BBC Sport. "Everything we do will be reviewed and then if we think some changes need to be made or tightened up, we will." In Test cricket a new ball is given after 80 overs into an innings but in the England series, the ball, as old as ten overs, has been changed due to its shape. "The fundamental thing about cricket balls is that the raw materials are raw materials," Jajodia said as quoted by Wisden. "They are natural, right? It is cow hide, it is cork, it is rubber, it is wool, winding thread, all that stuff. It's a completely natural, almost alive product." While Dukes has said that every ball is made to the highest standard, they have less control over the material. In 2022, during COVID-19, an issue with leather production and it being treated with wrong chemicals and wrong amount of time, owing to the pandemic, led to a batch of poor quality Dukes balls. Dukes have stayed committed to reviewing everything finely, from materials to production. This issue of ball change has slowed down the pace of the game. The ball can be made harder, Jajodia says. "I can put a rock in there, a really, really hard centre, and that will solve the problem. But you won't have a good game of cricket. That would break bats and break fingers". Just a couple of overs into the second day of play on Friday at Lord's, India complained about the Dukes ball, which was around 10 overs old. The umpire tried to put the ball through the hoop, but it did not go through. India captain Shubman Gill was seen having an animated chat with the umpire, possibly expressing his discontent with the replacement ball. Even in the drinks break, Gill appeared to be livid during his conversation with the umpire. Speaking after the second day of play in the third Lord's Test, England batter Joe Root called for implementation of a rule where the fielding team can be given a number of times which they can ask for ball's condition to be checked by umpires. "I personally think that if you want to keep getting the ball changed then each team gets three challenges every 80 overs and that's it," said Root as quoted by Wisden. "But the rings have to be the right size, not too big. That would be a nice way of compromising and saying it is not all on the manufacturer. Sometimes these things happen, but you cannot just keep asking and wasting time and slowing the game down at the same time," he added. The persistent issue with the ball continued when, 48 deliveries later, the ball required changing yet again. Even before the third contest, the ball-change trend was evident during the first two Tests. The Dukes' balls continued to be at the centre of attention yet again on day three. The process to identify the replacement began moments after the drinks break ended in the first session. Former England cricketer Ian Ward gave his take on the "ridiculous" ball change which caused an unprecedented delay in the first session of Day 3. Ward fumed at the umpire's decision not to change the ball during the drinks break, but after it, which led to a seven-plus minute break."They have decided to change the ball again, it's quite frankly ridiculous because if they've decided to change the ball, why was that not decided at the start of the drinks break?" Ward said on Sky Sports. "We waited for the entirety of the drinks break; they should be playing again now, and now the umpires have decided to change it and go through the procedure," he added. Former England pacer Stuart Broad believes that the constant change of the ball due to the loss of shape indicates that the Dukes "have a problem". "The cricket ball should be like a fine wicketkeeper. Barely noticed. We are having to talk about the ball too much because it is such an issue, & being changed virtually every innings. Unacceptable. Feels like it's been 5 years now. Dukes have a problem. They need to fix it. A ball should last 80 overs. Not 10," Broad wrote on X. Ahead of the third Test at Lord's, Indian vice-captain Rishabh Pant had said about the ball going out of shape being "not good for cricket". "I feel the gauge should be the same (to determine if the ball has gone out of shape, irrespective of the ball brand), but if it is a little smaller, it will be better. Definitely, I feel it is a big problem because the ball is getting out of shape. But at the same time, it is not up to us. Because visually, when you see the ball, you can see it's de-shaped." "The ball is getting de-shaped too much. That has never happened like this. It is definitely irritating for the players because every ball plays in a different way. Because when it becomes softer, sometimes it does not do too much. But as soon as ball is changed, it starts to do enough. So as a batsman, you have to keep adjusting to it...I feel it is not good for cricket eventually," he added. According to ESPNCricinfo, England skipper Ben Stokes had said whenever we have touring teams visiting, there is an issue with the balls going soft and completely out of shape. "I do not even think the rings that we use are Dukes rings. It is not ideal. But you have to deal with it," he said.
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First Post
18-07-2025
- Sport
- First Post
India vs England: Dukes offers to investigate manufacturing process amid controversy over ball quality
Dukes owner Dilip Jajodia had ealier blamed the changing nature of pitches in England as well as T20-style of batting for the ball losing shape earlier than expected and frequently being changed in the ongoing Test series between India and England. read more England pacer Jofra Archer inspects the ball alongside umpire Sharfuddoula during the third Test against India at Lord's. Reuters The Dukes ball has been in the limelight more than some of the players themselves in the ongoing Test series between India and England for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Both teams have been complaining about the ball losing shape earlier than expected and demands for it to be changed have been fairly frequent. Rishabh Pant had even copped a fine earlier in the series for angrily reacting to his demand for a ball-change not being carried out. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Dilip Jajodia, owner of British Cricket Balls Limited that manufactures the Dukes balls, had earlier responded to criticism from players by blaming changing nature of pitches in England as well as T20-style batting for the balls getting softer earlier than expected. Jajodia added that if the Dukes balls were to be harder than they are currently, they would end up causing damage to bats. Dukes manufacturer to investigate ball quality after initially deflecting blame Jajodia, however, has since offered to investigate the manufacturing process, including the raw materials used for the ball, and has assured of changes being made if faults were found at their end. 'We will take it away, inspect and then start talking to the tanner, talking about all of the raw materials - everything. Everything we do will be reviewed, and then if we think some changes need to be made or tightened up, we will,' Jajodia told BBC Sport. The manufacturing process at Dukes remains a traditional one, where the balls are produced from cork and are wound in string, cased in leather which is held together by a hand-stitched seam. 'One is the raw materials which are natural and then has to be moulded and put together by a human being. 'Obviously the major aspect of a cricket ball is the leather that holds the whole thing together, and if the fibres that form the animal skin has got some sort of weakness or inherent problem that's something we can only find if it fails by further inspection and investigation,' Jajodia added. The ball controversy had come to a boil during the third Test at Lord's, in which it was changed five times during England's first innings. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), which decides the brand of cricket balls that will be used for Test cricket as well as in the County Championship and lower levels, will collect as many match balls from the ongoing series as possible and return them to Dukes by the weekend. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The fourth Test between India and England gets underway on Wednesday at Manchester's Old Trafford with England currently leading the series 2-1.
