London, 8 November (H.S.): The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced on Saturday its decision to discontinue the use of the Kookaburra ball in the County Championship, with the change taking effect from the 2026 season. The resolution comes after receiving critical feedback from county cricket directors and the Professional Game Committee.

The Kookaburra ball trial was initiated three years ago with the objective of providing county cricketers with opportunities to hone their skills for varying international conditions.

However, the experiment has been widely regarded as unsuccessful, contributing to a perceived decline in the competitiveness of matches. A notable instance highlighting the trial's shortcomings occurred this year when Surrey amassed 820 runs before declaring against Durham at The Oval.

According to the ECB, the Kookaburra ball was first introduced for two rounds during the 2023 season, a number that was subsequently increased to four rounds for both the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Following a meeting in October, cricket directors from all 18 first-class counties recommended discontinuing the trial.

The ECB’s Professional Game Committee formally ratified this recommendation earlier this week.Consequently, from the 2026 season onwards, all 14 rounds of the County Championship will revert to being played exclusively with the traditional hand-stitched Duke ball. This move officially ends the use of the machine-stitched Kookaburra ball in the competition.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar