The ECB says counties will not be short of Dukes balls when the Championship starts on 3 April, despite warnings from the manufacturer that a shipping backlog linked to the conflict in the Gulf has driven freight costs through the roof.
Dilip Jajodia, who runs British Cricket Balls Ltd in Walthamstow, told the Daily Mail that freight rates from the sub-continent have leapt from US$5 to US$15 per kilogram. Every Dukes ball is hand-stitched in the region, so higher costs and fewer flights could, he argues, bite hard.
“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,” Jajodia explained. His fear is a “major crisis”, with around half the usual 4,000-5,000 balls on hand for April.
The ECB’s view is cooler. A board spokesperson responded: “The Professional County Clubs have received the number of Dukes balls that they normally would ahead of the season.” In short, the governing body buys in bulk months in advance, spreads the supply round the 18 clubs and, for now, believes the cupboard is stocked.
That reassurance also stretches to England’s men, whose summer of Tests begins against New Zealand at Lord’s on 4 June. No interruption, the ECB insists, to that consignment.
While that sounds tidy enough, counties will watch the situation. They burn through balls quickly—roughly eight per four-day match once you factor in practice and replacements—so a squeeze in May or June would be felt. Rationing at “50 percent of usual stocks”, as Jajodia put it, could leave clubs relying on older practice balls or asking the ECB for emergency top-ups.
Logistics experts say air-freight lanes through the Gulf have been rerouted or slowed, with carriers passing extra costs on to shippers. Surface freight remains an option, but travel times are longer and insurance premiums higher. One county official noted privately that if prices stay elevated, budgets for 2027 may need revisiting: “Balls aren’t the biggest line on the sheet, yet the costs add up when you buy a few hundred each year.”
For now, the game is set to start on time and with the red ball players know. Still, nobody is pretending the story has gone away. A resolution in the Gulf, or simply more cargo space, would be welcome. Until then the 2026 county summer begins with crossed fingers, a familiar ritual even in calmer times.
