The controversial trial which saw the Kookaburra ball used for some rounds of the County Championship season has been scrapped after three seasons.

The ECB first proposed the trial as part of Andrew Strauss' high-performance review three years ago in the hope that using the Kookaburra ball - rather than the Dukes - would encourage the development of spinners and bowlers with "extreme skills". The pilot initially lasted two rounds of games in the 2023 season, and was criticised by county coaches .

Rob Key, the ECB's managing director of men's cricket, was a strong advocate for the Kookaburra ball and convinced the counties to expand the trial to four rounds for the 2024 season. Surrey's Alec Stewart described that as "the worst decision ever" but Key doubled down, saying it had produced

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