England coach Trevor Bayliss hopes the use of a specially designed Dukes ball “plays into our hands”
George Dobell in Barbados19-Jan-2019England coach Trevor Bayliss hopes the use of a specially designed Dukes ball “plays into our hands” in the Test series against West Indies.The ball, adapted to cope with abrasive Caribbean surfaces, appears to stay hard and swing for longer. England had their first look at it during the warm-up games at the 3Ws Oval and enjoyed it to the extent that they claimed 30 wickets in two days. Their swing bowlers appeared to find movement almost all day.The use of the ball could become controversial by the end of the series. ESPNcricinfo understands that the former West Indies coaching regime, headed by Stuart Law and Nic Pothas, were keen to use a Kookaburra ball in this series on the basis that England have a history of struggling to gain much movement with it. They were also keen to play on slower, lower surfaces, such as in Guyana, in the hope of negating England’s seamers and exploiting a perceived weakness in their batting.But Johnny Grave, the CWI chief executive, decided on a different approach. He reasoned that the newly adapted Dukes ball, specially designed for use in the Caribbean after consultation between the manufacturer and CWI officials, would provide faster-moving, more entertaining cricket and avoid some of the attritional encounters seen between these sides in recent years.With several thousand England supporters expected in the Caribbean over the coming weeks, providing that attractive cricket – or at least cricket where the bowlers are in the game more often than has sometimes been the case in the past – has been prioritised.At the same time, groundstaff have been instructed to prepare pitches with some pace and life. With the England attack containing James Anderson and Stuart Broad – two men with 998 Test wickets between them – that would appear to be a gutsy move, though Grave would argue West Indies have a potent fast bowling attack of their own and that it is vital to provide a spectacle if supporters of either side are to be encouraged to attend.