ENGLISH cricket balls will be used in half the Sheffield Shield matches next summer as Australia tries to cover every base in preparing for the next Ashes tour in 2019.

The Duke balls, which have a more prominent hand-stitched seam, a darker colour and usually swing more in English conditions, will replace the traditional Australian-made Kookaburras for the last five rounds, plus the final.

The machine-produced local balls will continue to be used in Test matches and all other international cricket, as they have been, exclusively, in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa since 1946.

The Melbourne-based company Kookaburra Sport which used to be known as A.G. Thompson, has been supplying balls to most Australian and many overseas competitions since it was founded in 1890, and is unlikely to be impressed by the move, which Cricket Australia is expected to announce on Wednesday.

A CA source said the switch was not a reflection on the quality of the Kookaburras, simply an attempt to address a perceived difficulty Australian batsmen have when playing against the Dukes in England.

It was highlighted when Steve Smith’s team was bowled out for 60 in the fourth Test of last year’s tour, which England won 3-2.

“Our teams have struggled against the Dukes and need greater experience against it,” the source said.

“There is a genuine difference between the two balls.”

media_camera Stuart Broad had a Duke in his hand when he bowled ‘that’ spell at Trent Bridge.

CA is believed to have not yet decided whether one of the Shield rounds will be a day-nighter, but the manufacturers of the Dukes, British Cricket Balls Ltd, expects that will be the case, and is developing a pink ball, believed to be a lighter shade than the Kookaburras used in the experimental matches in the season just gone.

Managing director Dilip Jajodia, whose company dates back to 1760, said white versions of his ball might be used in the 2017 Matador one-day domestic competition.

The Dukes have been tested in the Futures League and under-age matches in recent years so the move does not come as a complete surprise.

According to Jajodia, the “bespoke surface finishes” have proved suitable for the harsher Australian conditions.

He said he was confident his balls would eventually become the preferred choice at club level.

Ron.reed@news.com.au

@Reedrw