England Cricket Board Dismisses Dukes Supply Concerns Ahead of Upcoming County Season

The England Cricket Board (ECB) has dismissed the concerns related to the supply-chain issues of the Dukes ball. They are confident that the upcoming county season will get underway on time, as all clubs have already received the required number of balls.

It was recently revealed in a media report that first-class counties will run out of balls when the season begins in two weeks due to a "major crisis" in the supply of balls. It should be noted that Dukes are the only balls that are supplied for test cricket in England, Ireland, and the West Indies, as well as for use in English domestic cricket.

The owner of British Cricket Balls Ltd., Dilip Jajodia, recently said that English cricket is expected to face a "major crisis" because freight rates from the subcontinent, where each ball is individually hand-stitched, had increased from $5 to $15 per kilogram due to the Middle East conflict.

"We’ve got plenty of stuff in the factories in the subcontinent ready to go, but the airlines are not taking the freight, because there’s a logjam," said Dilip Jajodia while talking to the Daily Mail.

He further said that the Middle East crisis has impacted the financial supply-chain of Dukes, as rates of balls have gone up massively since the start of the conflict.

"The rates have gone up too. A box of 120 cricket balls would be charged normally by airlines at about $5 a kilo. The last quote I got was $15 a kilo. Most of the stuff goes through the Middle East, but if you’ve suddenly got rockets flying around, you’ve got a major problem." said Dilip Jajodia.

It should be noted that the leather used to make dukes comes from British cows, which are then tanned in Chesterfield. Afterwards, they are shipped to South Asia, where the leather is sewn into balls before being returned back to England. Dukes has only provided each county with half of the balls required for the entire season due to the challenges associated with returning the balls after they have been stitched together.

Addressing the concerns, the ECB clarified that the clubs had already received the required Dukes balls at this point and that the board purchases its balls in bulk for financial reasons on behalf of the counties. Considering that, they are confident that the upcoming season will start without facing any issues.

"The Professional County Clubs have received the number of Dukes balls that they normally would ahead of the season." said the ECB spokesperson.