Several clubs have questioned the suitability of Indwe balls for the ongoing Western Province Cricket Association Ama20 Competition.
Indwe four-piece balls were used by premier league and first division A clubs – and others – for the group stages of the Ama20 Competition. The same brand will likely be used for the semi-finals and final.
“I would just like to raise an issue that has been experienced across the board during the Ama20 Competition,” Green Point Cricket Club chairman Devon Jeffreys wrote in an email to the Western Province Cricket Association.
“I had the pleasure of a call-up to our first XI last and this weekend to fill in for three of the Ama20 Competition fixtures. To say that the Indwe cricket balls are sub-par is the understatement of the century. In the first game, the ball lasted about 17 overs until it was virtually unplayable.
“In the second, it had to be changed in the 16th over when the seam, casing, and cork had split in half. In the Sunday game, versus Northerns Goodwood Cricket Club, the seam split in the fourth over.
“I am sure that everyone is aware of the situation as I did speak to both umpires on the weekends in question. I would, however, like some formal communication as to what the solution is going into this weekend for the 50-over innings games?”
Representatives from fellow first division A outfits Strandfontein Cricket Club, Primrose Cricket Club, Kraaifontein Cricket Club and Edgemead Cricket Club echoed Green Point Cricket Club’s sentiment via emails to the WPCA. The premier league’s Brackenfell Cricket Club, Milnerton Cricket Club and Langa Cricket Club – and first division B’s Rylands Cricket Club and Hottentots Holland Cricket Club – concurred.