With a prominent seam and the soft leather, the SG Test balls provide a novelty to cricket in India. Of late though, many teams - both domestic and international - have had complaints, with frequent changes required due to a loss of shape or a faulty seam.Friday morning, for instance, witnessed one of Test cricket's more bizzare moments. The game, already delayed by 20 minutes due to bad light, had to be interrupted again even though Gautam Gambhir had taken his guard, his opening partner Virender Sehwag waited at the other end, and England James Anderson was standing at top of his run-up.It was only then that the England seamer noted that there was a problem with the seam of the ball, and a referral to umpire Asad Rauf initiated an incident that has never happened before in Test cricket - a change of ball without a single delivery being sent down.Incidentally, both the new ball and the second new ball are chosen by the team themselves before the toss and are then handed over to the umpires. Nevertheless, a fresh ball was chosen and play began, only to be interrupted after just 11 overs before the umpires Rauf and Daryl Harper had to give into constant persuasion from England bowlers.Thankfully, that remained the only ball change in the day's play.Many state teams have complained about the poor quality of SG Test balls delivered to them for domestic games, and there have been cases when the ball has had to be changed as many as 25 times in a four-day game. Several match referees have registered their observations on the issue, but the BCCI is still sitting quiet over the issue - caught between tradition and rational thinking, perhaps. Already, junior cricket has made a switch from SG to another indigenous brand.Manufacturers blame it on the severe demand in the market, especially given the number of matches and the practice balls required, and say there's not enough time for the balls to dry properly before use.Meanwhile, as they say, the game must go on.
