Anthony McGrath, the coach of Yorkshire, is adamant against the use of Kookaburra balls in County Championship matches. He derides the decision as “nonsensical.” The 49-year-old coach’s remarks come in light of the directive aimed at better preparing England players for upcoming international series, particularly the Ashes.
The decision to switch to Kookaburra balls is a move to encourage county bowlers to develop their craft and aspire to better things. This move follows several dismal displays with the same orb in past Ashes engagements. Rob Key, the director of England cricket, initially championed this approach, believing it would foster greater development among bowlers leading into crucial international matches. The outcomes from recent County Championship games tell a far less rosy story.
In 2024, 17 of 18 early-season matches with Kookaburra balls resulted in draws. This result led to a questioning of the efficacy of these balls. At Trent Bridge, Yorkshire took on Nottinghamshire in a historic match-up. In spite of the drama, only 21 wickets could be found – yet another draw. In fact, seven of those nine matches were draws during this two year time span. Only Surrey and Northants were able to snatch wins.
McGrath’s take was that the overall quality of the match was poor because of the Kookaburra ball. He stated, “The match as a whole was not a great watch for spectators with the Kookaburra ball and I’m still not sure why we are using it, to be honest.” His fears echo the warnings of former Yorkshire coach Ottis Gibson, who previously slammed the directive as “a nonsense.” Former director of cricket at Surrey, Alec Stewart, joined the chorus, labelling it as “the worst decision ever.”
Despite all that criticism, this summer it is England — using a Dukes ball — who will test India most. They too have an eye on the Ashes this winter, training with Kookaburra. McGrath highlighted an important point here — county players experience a massive disconnect. They find it really difficult to adjust to the rigors of Test cricket. He noted, “We don’t play Test cricket in England with a Kookaburra and if we are thinking about the next series in Australia playing with a Kookaburra, then the people who are going to play in that series probably need to be using a Kookaburra ball as well.”
He questioned the impact of forcing players to bowl fast without proper training. “If you’re wanting people to bowl 90mph on the back of seven first-class games, then eight T20s… and you slot it in during a Test series, in the most jam-packed part of the season with not many England players around, it is nonsensical,” he added.
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