Be it the introduction of Bazball Cricket or Kookaburra balls in the County Championship, ECB is leaving no stone unturned to ensure England becomes the best Test team in the world.

Be it the introduction of Bazball Cricket or Kookaburra balls in the County Championship, ECB is leaving no stone unturned to ensure England becomes the best Test team in the world. Having already made waves with the ultra-attacking brand of cricket in the longer format, the ECB is now working towards preparing its bowlers for all conditions by making them bowl with Kookaburra and not Duke Balls in the early stages of County Championships. The use of the Kookaburra ball, dominantly played with during overseas series, was recommended in Sir Andrew Strauss' high-performance review in 2022 and was trialled last year had replaced the traditional Dukes Ball in the first two rounds of the County Championship this season. This change saw mixed reactions from the pundits, with some calling this a masterstroke, while others bashing it, calling it the ‘worst decision ever’. ECB’s Director of Cricket, Robert Key, has backed this idea of using the Kookaburra ball to ensure the bowlers, who cannot bowl express pace, must get used to this ball’s dynamics. Unlike the Dukes that assist seam and swing bowling, a preferred choice in the UK, given the conditions, Key insists that the usage of Kookaburra, which has a less prominent seam and goes softer earlier, will push the bowlers to become creative with their craft and master it by the time they get an international call-up. ALSO READ: IPL 2024: ‘MS Dhoni is a special person’ – KL Rahul recalls best moment with India legend ahead of LSG-CSK tie "My view is, the better the conditions for batting, the more you find out about your bowlers," Key said on Sky Sports Cricket Podcast. "Bowlers are so important in winning games. Batsmen set up games, and bowlers are the ones that win it." “I also believe that for us to have a great era of English cricket, which everyone in these sorts of jobs wants, it's about bowlers and being able to produce - not necessarily 95mph bowlers, but it's clear that for the best teams, it's sort of 85mph plus,” he continued. ‘We need to be best in this format’ Commenting on the criticism it has received, with former England great Alec Stewart calling it a mistake, Key feels with greater risks come greater rewards. "Playing against a Kookaburra in England is nothing like playing against it in South Africa or Australia," Stewart said. "The surfaces are different." "Our point of difference playing here is the Dukes ball, so why are we not playing here, being the best we can be with the Dukes ball so that when the touring sides come over, we hammer them." Meanwhile, Key said he must find ways to ensure England gets better in Tests, not just at home but outside too. "My view is that we sort of think, in our home conditions, we dominate - which a lot of teams do at the moment - but the truth is that England have been a middling Test team for 40-plus years. "I want us to go out there and be the best team in the world and have a really good era... and it's about trying to find ways of doing that,” Key concluded.

ECB's Robert Key explains how use of Kookaburra ball in County can help England become top Test team

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ECB's Robert Key explains how use of Kookaburra ball in County can help England become top Test team