Delhi:It has not been easy for the batsmen to score runs in the ongoing Test series between England and Pakistan. In the first two Test matches, no batsman has scored a century. The condition of Pakistan has been even worse. The team has not been able to cross the 200-run mark even once in four innings.
Now England captain Joe Root has given an interesting reason behind these low scores. Root believes that this year there has been some change in the structure of Dukes' red ball, due to which the ball remains hard for a longer time.
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'The ball has been quite different this year'
Joe Root said that he has felt the difference in this year's Dukes ball. In this context Root said,
'I think the balls have been quite different this year. I think there's a different kind of layer on them. I have no proof of this and perhaps I should ask Dukes about it. But I think there is a layer of lacquer on the seams. They don't want the ball to spoil quickly and lose its shape.”
The lacquer applied on the Dukes red ball not only helps in keeping the ball shiny and smooth but also keeps its seam and surface in better condition for a longer period of time. This also affects the swing of the ball.
Difficulty increasing due to ball marks on the pitch
According to Root, the effect of the ball being too hard is not limited to swing only. If the ball leaves more marks after falling on the pitch, then those marks can give the ball additional seam.
That means the difficulty for the batsmen is that despite being new, the ball is maintaining its strength for a long time. In such a situation, the fast bowlers are getting more help from the pitch and the margin of error for the batsmen has reduced.
The condition of Pakistan's batsmen is the worst.
Pakistan's batting has been the biggest example of this in this series. In the first innings of the first Test, Pakistan team could not even score 200 runs and in the first innings of Lord's Test also the entire team was limited to only 110 runs.
In the second innings of Lord's Test, Pakistan scored 194 runs, but still could not cross the 200 mark. So far in this series, Pakistan has not been able to score 200 runs even once in four innings.
Root himself is struggling with the bat
Interestingly, Joe Root himself has been far from his best performance in this series against Pakistan. Only 94 runs have come from his bat in three innings.
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Despite this, Root believes that such situations are also a part of the game in Test cricket. He said that sometimes the weather, rain, pitch and ball conditions together create difficulties for the batsmen.
Seeing the struggle of the batsmen in the first two Tests, now the eyes are on the next match of the series. It remains to be seen whether the same toughness of the ball and the help provided by the pitch continues, or whether the batsmen are successful in responding to the conditions.