Sourav Ganguly defends SG Test ball. (Source: File Photo)

In the 21st over of Madhya Pradesh’s first innings on Wednesday, the ball lost its shape and had to be changed. The condition of the ball had gone awry in the 11th over, when Bengal batted on the first day. The SG Test ball is seemingly not living up to the standards. Sourav Ganguly, however, defended its use, saying it could be an odd lot that has been creating problems.

“Sometimes there could be a case that one lot (that has come this year) is not good enough. I think they (SG) will fix it. And why only SG, as Graeme Smith said (at the Jagmohan Dalmiya Memorial Lecture), Kookaburra, too, is causing problems,” Ganguly told The Indian Express.

Last season, the BCCI had used the SG whites for the first time in the domestic limited-overs tournaments. But the ball received a negative feedback from the captains and coaches. The SG red, however, didn’t face any criticism and during its meeting earlier this year, the Ganguly-led BCCI technical committee decided to stick with the SG ball for first-class cricket and Tests in India.

But the SG red came under the scanner after Virat Kohli gave a damning assessment of its quality during the recently concluded home series against West Indies. “To have a ball scuffed up in five overs is not something that we have seen before,” the India captain had said. Umesh Yadav, too, spoke about the ball going soft “after 20 overs”.

On Wednesday, a Bengal Ranji team member said the quality of the SG Test ball has gone down. “It has deteriorated significantly. No two ways about it. The ball is losing its shine fast. It’s getting soft after a few overs. It’s losing its shape. They need to get things right. It has to be like earlier it used to be,” he told this paper.

While delivering the Dalmiya lecture at Eden Gardens earlier this month, former South Africa captain Smith had laid into the Kookaburra ball. “The Kookaburra ball in particular is letting people down. It’s a ball that softens and does not swing for a long period of time. I think Test cricket cannot afford to have boring draws…”

Asked if the Dukes ball should be used for first-class cricket and Tests in India, Ganguly said: “It’s difficult for me to answer, as I’m not an expert on the cricket ball.” The former India captain, however, felt that despite its Englishness, the Dukes could sustain the Indian conditions. “I don’t think that would be a problem. June-July are pretty hot in England as well.”