On Day 1 of the fourth Test between India and England at Old Trafford, there was an unforeseen event involving Yashasvi Jaiswal during the morning session. The incident, which caused a pause in play and brought back the debate over the Duke's ball's manufacture in a new light, occurred when the young Indian opener's bat shattered while he was attempting to defend a delivery from Chris Woakes, leaving him perplexed.

Jaiswal attempted a straightforward back-foot defense against a short-of-length delivery from Woakes in the ninth over of India's innings. The strike, however, broke the bat close to the neck and visibly twisted the willow, turning what should have been a simple block into a dramatic moment.

Jaiswal was taken aback and had to go get a substitute. On the speed radar, the delivery was surprisingly only 126 km/h, leading people to wonder if the Duke's ball had suddenly gotten tougher than they had anticipated.

The discussion is not novel. The inconsistency of the Dukes ball has been a recurring worry for players on both teams during the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series. Due to the abnormally dry English summer and gentle pitches, bowlers have found it difficult to move, and teams have frequently requested ball changes as a result of quick softening. Nonetheless, this specific breakup flipped the discussion around: Was the ball now too hard?

The former caution from Duke's owner

Dilip Jagjodia, the maker of the Dukes ball, had previously admitted the critique but rejected any significant changes to existing manufacturing procedures. He had emphasized the delicate balance that manufacturers must strike between durability and damage.

"The Indian Express" cited Jagjodia as saying that a very hard ball would have shattered bats.

"We must exercise caution—that's the issue. People may be tempted to do it if they are adventurous players, but that would be terrible.

The regulations governing the ball's lifespan in Test matches were also explained by Jagjodia. "The laws of the game are that the ball has to deteriorate over 80 overs. The ball then has to be played for 80 overs, and it gets worse over time. After 20 overs, you can't just come out of nowhere and say, "This ball isn't doing what I want or what it does."

He continued by saying that all of the balls are manufactured in accordance with British guidelines. "I'm a very stickler for the rules, I make sure that we do the best we can. I handpick the balls myself; they are the most gorgeous objects in the world. That's out of my hands when you play with them.

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