Over the past two weeks at county grounds around the country, players have been raising their bats with astonishing regularity.
No fewer than 59 centuries have been scored across the latest two rounds of County Championship matches.
A batter’s paradise and a bowler’s nightmare, with seamers left scratching their heads at how to use the unfamiliar Kookaburra ball.
Huge scores have been clocked up, none bigger than Surrey’s mammoth 820-9 declared against Durham, the highest for 18 years and fourth highest in the history of Championship cricket.
But why have the runs been flowing?
Dukes v Kookaburra
For these two rounds of matches and the two rounds at the end of this month, all Championship games will be played with the Kookaburra ball, whereas normally matches in England use a Dukes.
But what is the difference between the two?
A Dukes ball is hand stitched with six rows of threads. This makes the seam more pronounced than the Kookaburra and it maintains its shape for longer, favouring bowlers searching for seam and swing movement.
The Kookaburra is machine stitched and does not have the same handicraft in its manufacturing. It does swing initially, but loses its shape more quickly and becomes softer.
However, it is better suited to cricket played on dry, hard pitches, as are usually found in Australia, to cope with the abrasive surfaces.
In Test cricket, the Dukes ball is used in England, Ireland and West Indies, whereas the Kookaburra is predominantly used everywhere else.