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Ashes away wins are like hen’s teeth.
Only once in the past dozen series between England and Australia have the visitors left with the urn by virtue of winning more Tests than their opponents. And as of now, neither country will be indulging in the practice of using the other one’s ball - all thoughts of it representing a magic pill consigned to history.
Confirmation that the three-year experiment of rolling out the machine-made Kookaburra in a number of rounds of the County Championship has been scrapped came at a meeting of the professional game committee last month. There had been overwhelmingly negative feedback from the 18 directors of first-class cricket since the Kookaburras were brought in during the 2023 season.
It ends the most farcical of stand-offs between the English domestic and international games - and not before time.
The use of the Kookaburra in first-class cricket in the UK was a bit of a Bob Cunis situation. New Zealand’s Cunis, so said Test Match Special commentator Alan Gibson, was neither one thing nor the other. Ten rounds of fixtures did not lead directly to an England selection. Nor did it enhance the spectacle of the competition to those that matter - the supporters.
Instead, it delivered a raft of mind-numbingly, high scoring matches in which clubs appeared to be batting on in protest at times - recall Surrey’s 820 for nine declared against Durham in June - and forced groundsmen to counter the bat-friendly balls by leaving extra grass on or under-preparing pitches.
The Kookaburra ball will no longer be used in County Championship matches after overwhelmingly negative feedback from the 18 directors of first-class cricket
Ben Stokes prepares for the Ashes with a Kookaburra ball in Perth this week
Those within the England pathway system from Under-19 to the Test team have argued for its continued use, citing the extra spin and extreme pace on view across the weeks when the Dukes ball was ditched.
The numbers from the past three County Championship seasons are revealing: optimal bowling speeds with the Kookaburra were shown to be approximately 85mph, dropping to up to 10mph slower with the Dukes.
Four in 10 overs were bowled by spinners during Kookaburra rounds as opposed to one in four when using the Dukes. But the county game has thankfully held firm on its desire to revert to a 14-match season uniformly using the hand-stitched English balls that offer considerably more seam and swing.
One common question thrown up by county coaches remains extremely relevant - how does using the Kookaburra prepare Test cricketers for assignments abroad when those representing England are so rarely released for domestic duty?
And let’s face it, if England’s hierarchy believe a young player fits their mould, they do not use Championship performances to justify selection. Take the example of Mitchell Stanley, who was already lined up for a place on England Lions’ tour this winter and a year-long development contract prior to him claiming 11 Kent wickets with the Kookaburra for Lancashire in September. At that stage, aged 24, Stanley had one first-class victim.
It should also be noted that using the Dukes ball in Sheffield Shield seasons between 2016-20 did not cure Australia’s travel sickness either.
INJURY SUBS IN FULL SWING DOWN UNDER
Australian cricket will decide whether to continue with its injury substitute policy in domestic competitions later this month.
Along with the boards of India and South Africa, Cricket Australia agreed to run a pilot scheme in advance of in-play replacements being sanctioned for Test cricket next year.
New South Wales' Sean Abbott (pictured) became the Sheffield Shield’s first injury substitution when he split the webbing in his hand while fielding and was replaced by Charlie Stobo
Abbott's team-mate Will Salzmann (pictured) became the latest player to be subbed off when he tore his left hamstring in the field. He was replaced by Ryan Hicks
The ECB opted not to implement the changes last summer, arguing that doing so in 18-team competitions would be cost prohibitive, partly due to the need to employ independent doctors in the interests of integrity.
So far, New South Wales are the only team to use a sub for reasons other than concussion this winter, doing so on two occasions.
The latest came earlier this week when Will Salzmann tore his left hamstring sliding on his back, following a 60-metre dash, trying to stop a Victorian boundary in the fourth over of the match at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Salzmann, 21, was subsequently helped from the field and officially replaced at lunch by Ryan Hicks.
Sean Abbott became the Sheffield Shield’s first injury substitution under their recently-drafted playing conditions when he split the webbing in his hand while fielding in the reverse fixture against the Victorians in October. Abbott exited the contest after 55 overs, with Charlie Stobo, another bowling all-rounder, taking his place.
Under Shield regulations, changes must be like-for-like and opponents are offered a chance to level up by introducing a tactical personnel switch of their own by the end of the following day’s play. On both occasions, Victoria declined the opportunity to alter their XI.
Boards were free to create their own substitution protocols and the ICC will liaise with those who have introduced new regulations to come up with a framework that could work at Test level.
The move towards subs was sped up last summer when debilitating injuries to Rishabh Pant and Chris Woakes during England’s 2-2 draw with India left both teams undermanned.
Chris Woakes had to bat with one arm after dislocating his shoulder on England duty during the summer
And India's Rishabh Pant goes off injured during the fourth Test - he later came out to bat, practically on one leg
INDIAN BATSMAN BREAKS RECORD FOR CONSECUTIVE SIXES!
Two new first-class records were established this week when Akash Choudhary smashed eight consecutive sixes on his way to 50 off just 11 deliveries. While cricketers of the ilk of Sir Garfield Sobers and Ravi Shastri had previously achieved six sixes in an over, Choudhary not only replicated them, but trumped the fabled hitting phenomenon by striking two in the over that followed.
No one in 130 years of established first-class competition has previously cleared the boundary eight times in a row. The 25-year-old then broke the previous record of 12 balls for a half-century - held by Wayne White for Leicestershire, playing against Essex 13 years ago.
While his feats were indisputably high-water marks within the professional game, what is open to debate was the standard of the cricket in question. Choudhary walked into bat for Meghalaya on the second day of the Ranji Trophy match against Arunachal Pradesh, the north-east frontier of India, bordering on China, Bhutan and Myanmar.
With fewer than 1.4 million people, it is the least populous state in the country and unheralded for sport. Of the Ranji Trophy’s 38 first-class teams, they are 38th, sitting bottom of the plate group, having lost each of their four fixtures in 2025-26 by an innings. Choudhary walked to the crease with Meghalaya 576 for six and, after nudging two off three balls, took left-arm spinner Limar Dabi for 36 in the over and then reached his landmark with back-to-back blows off off-spinner TNR Mohith.
The declaration came soon afterwards on 628 for six, and Choudhary took his opportunity to make inroads in his more familiar role with the new ball, taking three wickets across AP’s totals of 73 and 109 all out.
