KEY POINTS
- The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has disrupted air freight routes, preventing finished Dukes balls from being shipped back to the UK from factories in South Asia.
- As a result of the logjam, first-class counties will start the season with only 50% of their required balls, though the ECB assures that current Test match supplies are unaffected.
- Shipping costs have tripled from $5 to $15 per kilo, and the situation is worsened by the ECB’s decision to exclusively use Dukes balls in the County Championship for the 2026 season.
LONDON: English cricket is staring at an unprecedented logistical challenge just weeks before the start of the domestic season. A storm of geopolitical instability and increased demand has severely disrupted the supply chain of the iconic Dukes cricket ball, leaving counties with only half their required stock for the summer.
According to a report on March 19, the ongoing conflict in the Middle East has created a “major crisis” in the transportation of the hand-stitched balls, which are mandatory for all first-class and international cricket in England.
English cricket’s summer season faces disruption as Dukes warns of a potential ball shortage due to Middle East conflict-related supply chain issues. Owner Dilip Jajodia says counties may receive only 50% of their usual allocation, with rising freight costs and flight disruptions… pic.twitter.com/NKCm8j1WIp
— Faizan Lakhani (@faizanlakhani) March 19, 2026
A global journey interrupted
While the Dukes ball is synonymous with English cricket, its creation is a global endeavor. The journey begins with leather sourced from British cows, which is tanned in Chesterfield. However, the critical stage of stitching the ball takes place in factories across the subcontinent. It is on the return leg of this journey, shipping the finished product back to the UK—that the supply chain has come unstuck.
The turmoil in the Middle East has caused a logjam in air freight, as airlines reroute or cancel flights through affected areas. This has left a backlog of finished balls stranded in South Asian factories, unable to reach their destination.
Skyrocketing costs and a logistical logjam
Dilip Jajodia, owner of the British brand that has supplied cricket balls for over 60 years, painted a stark picture of the situation. He revealed that the conflict has not only delayed shipments but has also made the process prohibitively expensive.
England cricket grapples with Dukes ball shortage!#ECB #EnglandCricket https://t.co/aWX5LL6aBl
— CrickIt (@CrickitbyHT) March 19, 2026
“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. The cost of transportation has tripled, skyrocketing from $5 to $15 per kilo. He warned that with the current instability, the logistics have become a major gamble, as freight routes passing through the Middle East face significant disruption.
As a direct result of these shipping difficulties, Dukes has been forced to ration its supplies. First-class counties will begin the season having received only half of the total balls they would normally require for the entire summer.
ECB responds amidst Kookaburra experiment’s end
The situation is further complicated by a recent policy change from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). The controversial experiment using the Kookaburra ball in the County Championship has been scrapped for the 2026 season. This means the demand for the Dukes ball will be higher than ever, as it will be the sole ball used throughout the domestic summer.
In response to the brewing crisis, the ECB moved to calm immediate fears. The board issued a statement clarifying that counties have received the typical number of balls they would expect at this stage of the year.
The ECB purchases the balls in bulk on behalf of the clubs and confirmed that there is currently no issue regarding the supply of Dukes balls for Test matches scheduled for later in the summer.
However, with the season set to begin in just two weeks, the long-term availability remains uncertain. To mitigate the risk, Dukes is actively exploring alternative transport routes from the subcontinent that bypass the disrupted Middle Eastern airspace, hoping to secure a steady flow of the nation’s favorite red ball for the months ahead.
