‘We have a superior product’: Dukes maker invites Rob Key for talks over ball

Dilip Jajodia, the managing ­director of British Cricket Balls Ltd which has owned the Dukes imprint since 1987, was ­responding to a story in the Guardian this week in which Key hailed the trial use of the Kookaburra in the County ­Championship and called for it to be used permanently.

With its slighter seam and propensity to go softer earlier, the Kookaburra ­provides less assistance to bowlers and has contributed to bat ­dominating ball.

“I think it’s been fantastic,” Key had said of the initial stages of the Kookaburra experiment, which was first proposed by Andrew Strauss’s high performance review in 2022 with a view to better prepare bowlers for the rigours of Test cricket overseas.

Photograph: ANL/ShutterstockDukes came under criticism in the seasons directly after the Covid-19 pandemic because their balls were deemed to be softer than usual and therefore going out of shape a lot quicker than they previously had.

Stuart Broad went as far as to call the 2022 batch of Dukes balls “rubbish”, a quote that stung Jajodia and his small workforce at their factory in Walthamstow.

“I feel that our job is to produce a consistent product that plays well in all conditions and doesn’t overly favour bowler or batter.