5:45pm Friday 16th May 2008
By Ned Payne
CHIPPENHAM and Biddestone captains Steve Silk and Kris Boulton say the new Dukes ball they are playing with this season favour the bowlers too much.
The skippers made the comments after Boulton's Biddestone beat Silk's Chippenham for the first time in a competitive match, with a total of just 136.
The league switched from Readers to Dukes at the start of this season, but two skippers believe the new ball is favouring the bowlers because it moves around so much.
Silk said: "The Dukes cricket ball made for an interesting day. In my career of playing for 20 years I've never seen the ball move so much in a senior game of cricket.
"Three extremely competent batsmen (Chippenham's openers), who score runs year in, year out, were made to look average because of this ball.
"I agree the ball was poor last year because after the first 10 overs the shine would disappear. We've now gone to the other extreme where it's doing as much in the 50th over as in the first over.
"I think teams might be thinking about playing more seamers because of the Dukes ball.
"There have been a lot of low scores and the cricket ball is a lot to do with that. I think a cricket ball should be produced for both batsmen and bowlers.
"But at the end of the day that's what we're playing with and we've got to get used to it."
Biddestone skipper Boulton said: "The game seemed very heavilyweighted towards the ball. People say it's a batsmen's game, not at the moment it isn't.
"These balls are considerably different and it's having a considerable impact.
"I've been playing competitive cricket since I was 13 and I've never seen a ball do that.
"A good batsman is now struggling against an average bowler. It's making ordinary bowlers look good and really it shouldn't be.
"It needs to be evened out but whether they can do anything about it I don't know.
"We're doing everything we can in the field, we just need one or two people getting some runs.
"Hopefully that will come with just playing."
Chippenham were put in to bat by Biddestone and struggled to 135.
Silk's side were indebted to Ryan Higgins who hit a heroic knock of 68 despite suffering from flu.
Biddestone were in trouble at 37-5 but 49 from Naeem Khan and 24 from Boulton helped them over the line for a landmark victory.
Clifton Folkes' figures of 6-21 came as scant consolation to Chippenham.
Biddestone are at home to Marshfield tomorrow, while Chippenham host Goatacre.
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