Joe Root has thrown his weight behind the Kookaburra ball experiment in county cricket, claiming it could end up being revolutionary for England’s Test side.
The Australian ball is being used in twice as many championship rounds this summer, an expansion which has attracted opposition from traditionalists.
Alec Stewart, Surrey’s director of cricket, described it as “the worst decision ever”, complaining it makes average batters look very good.
However, Root, no-one’s idea of an average batter, believes it will drive innovation to the benefit of the national side.
“I don’t think it’s all about being able to use the Kookaburra ball when you go to Australia or South Africa. I think it’s about finding ways of taking wickets when nothing’s in your favour – and that’s a great skill,” said Root.
“I guess you could look at it and think: ‘there’s been a load of draws’ but also you could think: ‘well, this is an opportunity to upskill’ as well. ‘How am I going to take wickets with this ball in this format on these kinds of pitches? How can I become better?’
“I think there’s a lot of good that can come from it if guys have the right attitude.
“Look at the progression and the development in white-ball cricket in this country over a five-year period. Look at the amount of players that we’ve got that can do special things. Look how quickly that transition has been made through the mindset shift in white-ball cricket in our country.
“I think the same thing can happen in red-ball cricket.
“You’ve got to be open minded enough and understand that you might have to go through a little bit of pain to get there.
“If we want to keep upskilling and getting the standard as close to Test cricket as we can, it’s not going to happen overnight.
“But in five, six, seven years’ time, if we can bridge that gap then that transition for guys coming into Test cricket will be a lot smaller.”
The Kookaburra’s flatter seam compared to the Dukes ball reduces lateral movement and it tends to go softer quicker.
While its use, for an initial two-week early-season window, delivered 17 draws in 18 matches, bad weather was arguably the major factor in that.
What cannot be disputed however is that its introduction coincided with some substantial scores – Glamorgan’s Sam Northeast made the highest individual score (335 not out) at Lord’s in history in the opening round of fixtures and there were 10 innings of 150 or more in round two.
Root, who is playing in five of the first seven championship rounds for Yorkshire, thinks that helps with the big picture.
“When you’re asking guys to come up to Test cricket, you want them to know what it feels like to bat long periods of time to be able to muster up big 200-plus scores which win you Test matches,” he said.
“The number of guys, especially at the top of the order in April, that have gone on and made significant contributions has been brilliant to see.”
England men’s team director Rob Key has gone so far as to say he would dispense with the Dukes ball entirely. While Root stops short of that he believes the current balance is worth persevering with.
The Kookaburra will be back for another two weeks in late summer when Root hopes another benefit of the ball switch will be seen. More spin.
“We’ve already had a lot more hours of spin in April than we’ve probably had in a long time,” he said.
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