Exclusive: County Championship 2026 – Kookaburra Trial Ends or Continues? Experts Weigh In

English county cricket briefly tried the Kookaburra, the machine-stitched ball predominantly used in Australia, across four rounds over the past two seasons. Introduced as an aftermath of the last Ashes defeat in 2021-22 Down Under, the trial, recommended by Andrew Strauss, now appears to be nearing its end.

The England and Wales Cricket Board is likely to revert to the traditional Dukes ball from 2026 after big scores led to tepid draws, with not much for the bowlers. 

The hand-stitched Dukes has been going out of shape quickly, but they suit English conditions and can make a medium pacer look lethal compared to a Kookaburra.

WHAT DO EXPERTS SAY ABOUT KOOKABURRA?

Carl Crowe, who played for Leicestershire between 1995 and 2009, felt the Kookaburra was a good idea to scout better players for the Ashes in Australia. 

"If you are going to be effective with the Kookaburra, it also increases your certainty with the selectors; if they see somebody bowl well with the Kookaburra in the UK. I like the creativity as we are trying to find ways to give ourselves the best chance to perform in the Ashes, which we hold in high esteem in the UK," he told SportsBoom.co.uk.

Crowe is a respected spin coach in franchise cricket, mentoring players like Sunil Narine and top T20I bowler Varun Chakravarthy. He understands why bowlers prefer Dukes. 

"The scores go up significantly with the Kookaburra, while the Dukes ball does a lot more. It will be tricky, but one can find that one bowler who found a way to either swing it more or spin it more or find a solution which will make him effective and take wickets with the Kookaburra," he added.

SELECTION CLARITY AMID RUN MOUNTAIN

Testing players with the Kookaburra ball in English conditions provides fresh insights for selectors. Although the Kookaburra is designed for hard and bouncy Australian pitches, and looks and behaves noticeably differently from the Dukes, the experiment helps assess how English players adapt to varied challenges. 

"As a spinner, it is about holding differently, releasing differently, how do I get shape and spin on the ball, does it reverse swing? Do you take a new ball straightaway?"

"The pushback is not many of the England seamers playing international cricket are playing County cricket to get that experience but if a bowler, who is not in the Test team, is effective with the Kookaburra, people are going to check his Kookaburra stats from a selection perspective," said Crowe, who has worked as spin coach with Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League and as Assistant Coach in Lancashire.

Due to the limited use of the Kookaburra, it is hard to find statistics, but Essex pacer Sam Cook had impressed selectors with his 10-wicket haul against Nottinghamshire in 2024. Recently, Surrey's record-breaking 820/9 against Durham at The Oval, with Dominic Sibley scoring 305, further established why it helped the batters more.

There were 59 centuries with the Kookaburra, and the scorers ranged from position 1-9, while only 11 five-wicket hauls were recorded. 

John Windows, Durham's long-standing academy director, who developed the careers of Ben Stokes, Mark Wood and Liam Plunkett, said the Kookaburra ball did not meet expectations. 

"Using the kookaburra balls was one of those decisions made for the correct reasons, but it turned out not to provide the type of cricket it was hoped would take place. Most games fizzled out into dull draws," he told this publication.

The ECB's Professional Game Committee, which has the power to remove the Kookaburra from the County Championship, will discuss the issue at its November 5 meeting.