BCB to have Dukes balls in place at NCL to help players prepare for international games

Dukes balls will be used in Bangladesh's forthcoming nation's long-running first-class competition, which is slated to take place from October 10 to November 17. The major reason behind taking this step was for the national players to adapt to the Dukes Ball so that they don’t find it much difficult playing it during their overseas tour.

Recently, during their games against West Indies away from home, the Bangladesh bowlers bowled with the Dukes Ball for the first time, and that led to the team learning a lot more about how the situation and conditions change with the change of a ball. Dukes Ball is only used by England and West Indies as India uses the SG and all other nations use the Kookaburra ball.

"We decided to introduce Dukes in the NCL so that our players get familiar with it. The difference between a Dukes and SG ball is huge in terms of seam and shape and so this ball will be introduced to prepare our players properly as we have some assignments with it in the coming days," BCB chief selector Minhajul Abedin told Cricbuzz on Saturday.

Changes in fitness measurements

For players who are eager to join the NCL, the pass mark for the Yo-Yo Test is slated to rise to 18.1 this year from what was previously 17.4. During the preseason fitness camp, which ends on September 5, BCB will evaluate the most recent state of fitness of its top players.

A two-week skill camp will be in place after the fitness camp, and then the four-day tournament will start. On September 5, a pre-training fitness test for NCL players is scheduled, during which the BCB will evaluate the most recent fitness level of its top players. At the NCL, the sides are supposed to take a new ball every 80 overs, and BCB is working to ensure that the wicket has eight millimeters of grass in it.

The match fees for players have increased in Tiers 1 and 2, with Tier 1 winning team players receiving BDT One Lakh each, Tier 1 runners-up receiving Tk 80, Tier 1 third-place team players receiving Tk 70, and Tier 1 fourth-place team players receiving Tk 60,000. The Tier 2 champion and runner-up teams will receive Tk 60 and Tk 55 thousand apiece, while the third and fourth teams would each receive Tk 50 thousand.