Counties Cull Kookaburra Trial. Dukes Reign Continues

In a testing year of balls in cricket, the 18 Counties on the Cricket Advisory Group, a sub-committee of the ECB Professional Game Committee, confirmed that the Kookaburra trial will not continue in 2026, as only the Dukes ball will be used.

This decision may be surprising, as when comparing like-for-like matches the competitive imbalance appeared unaltered between bat and ball. However the findings of our sports economist Dr Johan Rewilak suggested that the Kookaburra ball reduced the probability of a home win by 50%, from 33% to 17%.

At the same time the Kookaburra ball never reduced the probability of an away win and the combined effect of these probabilities meant that the probability of a draw dramatically increased. This was especially evident in 2024 when the trial was doubled to four rounds (from two in 2023) and resulted in draws from 17 of the first 18 fixtures, which made the table very close and appear highly competitive. It led ECB Managing Director of Men's Cricket (Rob Key) to say that the Kookaburra ball produced "bloody good cricket". While Surrey's Alec Stewart described the trial as "the worst decision ever".

Although the Kookaburra ball is said to have impacted the balance between batsman and bowler, it did not impact runs scored or overs per wicket.

In conclusion, despite these conflicting views, the data clearly shows a significant reduction in home advantage. This means that the Kookaburra ball could yet be useful in situations where the organiser wishes to reduce home advantage.

Author: Graham Smith.