PRIOR to the start of the 2010 regional first-class season,

the West Indies Cricket

Board embarked on several initiatives to cut cost and drive spectator turnout.

One such move is the use of a newer brand cricket ball known as ‘Venom’, now the preferred choice for this revised first-class season.

But at the conclusion of the first round last Monday in Jamaica, the quality of the ball came in for scrutiny and harsh criticism after umpires were forced to change the ball twice in the Jamaica versus Windwards match at Chedwin Park.

According to Jamaica’s coach Junior Bennett, the ‘Venom’ balls are of inferior structure than that used in international cricket.

Said Bennett: “I think they need to look at the quality of the ball that they’re using in the first-class season. If you notice in this game after 20 overs they had to change the ball.

“Even before 20 overs the ball was shown to the umpires… so the quality of the ball is just not good,”

he asserted.

A quick check of the records shows that the ball was changed after 20.4 overs when Jamaica batted in their first innings and also in the 56th over during the Windwards’ second turn

at bat.

Bennett said the ‘Venom’ quickly becomes too soft, which contributes to it losing shape rapidly.

“Once the ball loses its shape it’s not going to be helpful to the bowlers,” Bennett added.

Former West Indies and Jamaica captain Courtney Walsh agreed and is calling on the WICB to use the Kookaburra brand used in international cricket.

“If we are using Kookaburra to play Test cricket… then that’s the ball we need to use in our first-class cricket so the guys get accustomed to it. They know how the ball is going to operate and people know how to perform with it,” Walsh reasoned.

“… You don’t want people to perform well with a substandard ball… and when they come up to the Test arena and get to play with the Kookaburra then it’s something new to them.

“So whatever we’re going to play with at Test cricket, our first-class competition should use it too… Whatever the kind of ball is, for transparency and quality, we have to do that,” Walsh said.

Windward Islands skipper and West Indies all-rounder Daren Sammy told the Sunday Observer he made mention of the ball’s poor quality in his captain’s report which will be sent to the WICB.

“… I don’t know if it’s the pitch condition or the outfield, but… we had to change our ball very early in our innings. But it’s a new initiative by the WICB; all we have to do now is to try it and give our recommendations,” said Sammy.

The WICB reported that it was bent on cost-saving measures due to the global economic recession and a steep decline in sponsorship revenues.

Checks by the Sunday Observer revealed that a Kookaburra ball cost a minimum of US$50 (depending on

the grade), compared to US$30 for

one ‘Venom’.

Even though cost is the biggest factor here, Bennett said quality is more important.

“I don’t have an issue with the cost because that is not my business,” he said. “What I’m talking about is the quality, and I don’t think the quality is good enough for first-class cricket. I heard in another match at Kensington (Barbados vs Leeward Islands) it was the same thing where after 18 overs the ball was changed.”

In 2008 a study led by associate professor Franz Konstantin Fuss, co-ordinator of the Sports Engineering degree programme at the University of Adelaide, Australia, showed that not all cricket balls are

consistently manufactured, except for Kookaburra brands.

The range of study covered five cricket balls manufactured in Australia, India and Pakistan and showed that balls that are inconsistently manufactured had quality issues, which potentially has major implications for matches.

The other brands used in the study were not disclosed.

The study, published in the 2008 journal, Sports Technology, looked at the methods of construction, stiffness, viscous and elastic properties, and included changes to the balls’ performance under compression and stress relaxation tests.

The WICB has asked its detractors to be understanding as they are facing tough economic challenges, although their case put forward failed to mention any assessment study

that likely shaped the decision- making process.

Walsh however remains adamant that the issue relating to the

durability of the ball should be addressed immediately.

When asked if he prefers the Kookaburra balls, an excited Sammy said: “Oh definitely, because that’s what they use in international cricket, so we need to get as close as possible to the international standards.”