The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is ending its two-season experiment with the Dukes ball and bringing the Kookaburra back into domestic first-class cricket for the 2026-27 season, according to a report by Cricinfo.
The change will cover both of Pakistan’s leading first-class competitions, the President’s Trophy and Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, and is intended to better prepare domestic players for the conditions and equipment they encounter at Test level.
PCB targets better balance in first-class cricket
One of the key considerations behind the change is the amount of assistance available to fast bowlers in Pakistan’s domestic game. A significant portion of first-class cricket this season will be staged in Peshawar, Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Abbottabad, where conditions can already favour seam bowling.
Combining those surfaces with the Dukes ball created concerns that the contest was becoming too heavily weighted towards bowlers. The PCB now expects the Kookaburra to reduce some of that advantage and produce a more even test for players across different disciplines.
The change is also designed to give batters longer periods at the crease, providing greater opportunities to develop their technique in first-class cricket. With less sustained assistance available to seamers, spinners could become increasingly influential as matches progress.
Fast-bowler development influenced PCB decision
The choice of ball has also become part of the PCB’s assessment of how effectively domestic cricket prepares pace bowlers for the international game. Compared with the Kookaburra, the Dukes can offer seamers assistance for a greater portion of an innings because of its construction and seam.
The concern was that pairing those characteristics with surfaces already offering grass and moisture could make conditions overly advantageous for domestic fast bowlers. The PCB wants first-class cricket to provide a better environment for developing skills that can translate to Test level, rather than allowing conditions and equipment to have an excessive influence on the contest.
Pakistan reverses two-season Dukes switch
Pakistan has changed its preferred first-class ball several times in recent seasons. The Dukes was used in 2017-18 and 2018-19 before the PCB adopted the Kookaburra from 2019 through 2023-24. The board then returned to the Dukes for 2024-25 as it sought to strengthen the development of fast bowling.
That latest experiment formed part of a broader period in which Pakistan initially placed greater emphasis on pace before subsequently moving towards spin-friendly conditions at home.
Jason Gillespie’s arrival as Pakistan’s red-ball Head Coach coincided with the return of the Dukes. During the same period, Pakistan prepared grassy pitches for its two Tests against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi, but the visitors won the series 2-0, giving Pakistan its first Test and series defeats against Bangladesh.
Red-ball strategy shifted towards spin
Pakistan later changed direction following defeat to England in the opening Test of their next home series in Multan. Subsequent home surfaces offered substantially more assistance to spin, marking a clear departure from the earlier emphasis on seam-friendly conditions.
The domestic-ball decision now represents another change within that evolving red-ball setup, with the PCB seeking conditions that can support the development of batters, fast bowlers and spinners while narrowing the transition between first-class and Test cricket.
The 2026-27 first-class programme begins with the President’s Trophy, featuring eight departmental teams across 28 four-day matches. The Quaid-e-Azam Trophy is scheduled to follow on November 1, with its field expanded from 18 to 20 teams across Gold and Silver divisions.
With the Kookaburra restored across both competitions, the PCB is seeking closer alignment between domestic first-class cricket and the demands players will face when progressing to Pakistan’s Test side.
