Cricket notebook: New balls, please... Turf20 set to give bowlers a break, three chances for England success

Kookaburra turf balls in 2016
Getty Images
Will Macpherson10 July 2018

Bowlers, listen up: Kookaburra are trying to make your life easier in T20 cricket. They have conducted blind tests and now unveiled a new T20 ball - called the Turf20.

Kookaburra’s standard white ball is made like a red one. Following player feedback, the Turf20, which is specific for T20 cricket, is made differently, and is harder of seam and shell to cope with the demands of being hit more fiercely and often in the 20-over game.

The hope is that it will offer bowlers a little more assistance than the current ball, which gives them next to nothing. The same ball is used for T20s and ODIs, which probably should change.

The Turf20 is still 18 months away from use in, say, the Big Bash, but was trialled in the Strike League, a competition in Australia’s Northern Territory. Players said the ball remained harder and the seam prouder for longer.

“A Test ball is designed to gradually deteriorate over 80 overs, this is an integral element to Test cricket. Twenty20 cricket has evolved quite differently; the action is more intense and explosive,” said Shannon Gill, Kookaburra’s head of communications. “This means a ball that meets the demands of the power hitting game has been created.”

Kookaburra want to present the ball for us in the T20 leagues in 2020, and use it for that year’s World T20 in Australia. The ICC are understood to be keen on it.

Three chances for England success

Three England teams face defining days in their summer today. First, England Women. They face New Zealand at Derby this afternoon in a bid to win their third series of the summer.

This is the second of three ODIs (they thrashed the White Ferns at Headingley on Saturday), while they have already won against South Africa in ODIs and the T20 triseries against both nations.

Next, Ian Salisbury’s Physical Disability Team. On Sunday, they lost to Pakistan but beat Bangladesh. Yesterday they lost to Bangladesh, setting up today’s clash. Ian Nairn’s team must now beat Pakistan today to qualify for the final at Kidderminster tomorrow.

England Under-19s are in charge before the third day of the First Youth Test against South Africa at Scarborough, with a first-innings head of 73.

Photo: Bryn Lennon/Getty Images
Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

Middlesex will this week advertise for the head coach’s position vacated by Richard Scott (above) last Monday. Richard Johnson, who is in caretaker charge of the four-day side until the end of the season, is a candidate, as is England batting coach Mark Ramprakash and perhaps Daniel Vettori. Middlesex’s T20 coach through next season as well as this one.

Richard Goatley, the CEO, and Angus Fraser are opening the process with an open mind; the successful coach could be employed year-round, or just for the season, like Jason Gillespie is at Sussex.

“We have three months to find the person,” Goatley told Standard Sport. “We are comfortable with the situation until the end of the season and will be looking internally and externally for the right candidate. There’s no rush. Dan is under contract next year, but that’s the only thing really set in stone. Other than that it’s open - home, overseas, 12-month contract, seven-month coact. We have time to get it right in terms of role definition, the type of person we want, availability, price.”

At least until they take on Surrey next Friday, Kent will be proud owners of a Queen Anne Silver Shilling, minted in 1709. The coin was obtained to celebrate the 309-year history of the fixture and Kent, as winners of the T20 Blast game at The Oval last week, keep it — until next time.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in