The early-season trial of the Kookaburra ball in the County Championship has been hailed as a success by Rob Key, with the England men’s team director keen to make it a permanent fixture throughout the domestic first-class summer. Speaking after the second round of fixtures to use the Kookaburra, Key shared his view that using a less bowler-friendly ball than the traditional Dukes had brought out the requisite skills for Test cricket by increasing the volume of spin bowling, rewarding seamers who have extra pace, and allowing batters to go big when set. “I think it’s been fantastic,” said Key.
Babar Azam makes his return as Pakistan captain in a five-match Twenty20 series starting Thursday against an understrength New Zealand with the World Cup weeks away.Pakistan suffered major upheaval following their first-round exit from the one-day World Cup last year.
Better use of the Indian Premier League's impact substitute rule has been the big factor behind this season's run spree in the high-octane Twenty20 competition which has seen multiple scoring records smashed, say experts."Impact player rule is benefiting (the) entertainment part of cricket, which is high-scoring games," Pathan told reporters.