ECB scraps Kookaburra ball trial after three seasons of County Championship controversy

The controversial trial involving the use of the Kookaburra ball in the County Championship has officially been scrapped after three seasons. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) first introduced the experiment as part of Andrew Strauss’ high-performance review three years ago. The intention behind using the Kookaburra, instead of the traditional Dukes ball, was to encourage the development of spinners and bowlers capable of producing extreme skills, thereby better preparing players for international cricket.

The trial began in 2023 and initially lasted for two rounds of matches. However, it quickly drew criticism from several county coaches who argued that the Kookaburra ball, which offers less seam movement and swing, led to dull contests and flat pitches. Despite the backlash, Rob Key, the ECB’s managing director of men’s cricket and a strong supporter of the initiative, convinced the counties to expand the trial to four rounds for the 2024 season.

Not everyone shared his optimism. Surrey’s director of cricket, Alec Stewart, described the move as the worst decision ever. Key, however, defended the experiment, claiming it had produced some good cricket, even though 17 of the first 18 fixtures that season ended in draws. The pattern continued in 2025 when the Kookaburra was used for four more rounds, again producing a high number of stalemates. The most striking example came when Surrey amassed a club-record 820 for 9 declared against Durham at The Oval.

Frustration among counties eventually boiled over. Directors of cricket from all 18 first-class counties unanimously expressed their desire to abandon the trial during a meeting last month. Their view was accepted by the ECB’s Cricket Advisory Group, a sub-committee of the Professional Game Committee, which confirmed earlier this week that the Dukes ball would return exclusively for the 2026 season.

With the ECB adopting a more hands-off approach to county cricket, discussions over fixture structures have been left to the clubs. While they failed to agree on major Championship reforms, counties did approve a slight reduction in T20 Blast fixtures. Consequently, all 14 rounds of the 2026 County Championship will once again be played solely with the traditional, hand-stitched Dukes ball.