Sam robson

The England cricket season 2026 commenced with the County Championship on Good Friday to add a new chapter on the subject of how cricket is changing. See how this season is different:

* The three-year Kookaburra ball trial has been dumped and English cricket returns exclusively to the Dukes ball. In 2023, the ECB had advised to use the Australian Kookaburra balls in two rounds of the championship matches, increasing to four rounds in 2024. The purpose was to help English bowlers to prepare better for overseas assignments, particularly Ashes tours. At present, seven of the Test playing countries use Kookaburra balls. The experiment failed to serve the purpose and is called ‘the worst idea ever.’