New Zealand Cricket will introduce the experiment for the first five rounds of the 2026-27 Ford Trophy, with a review to determine whether the rule continues for the remainder of the season.
New Zealand Cricket (NZC) will trial a single-ball rule for the first five rounds of the 2026-27 men's one-day Ford Trophy, aiming to give bowlers greater opportunities to generate reverse swing during the death overs.
The tournament begins on October 28, with the trial replacing the existing playing conditions under which two new balls are used during the initial 34 overs of a 50-over innings. From the 35th over onwards, the bowling side selects one of the two balls to use at both ends until the end of the innings.
Under the revised trial, teams will use just one ball throughout all 50 overs, allowing it to become older and potentially provide bowlers with greater assistance through reverse swing in the latter stages of an innings.
The experiment will cover the opening five rounds of the competition, which run through November. The regular season will then resume with the remaining five rounds and the finals in February 2027. NZC will assess the effectiveness of the trial after the first five rounds before deciding whether to retain the rule or return to the two-ball system for the second half of the season.
Central Stags batter Will Young welcomed the initiative, believing it could introduce an interesting tactical dimension to the 50-over format.
"I think it adds a really interesting dynamic to the game and to the format, so I quite like the idea of trialling the single ball and bringing back the art of getting the ball to reverse swing," Young said.
He also suggested that the prospect of increased movement late in the innings could force batters to reconsider their approach, particularly when looking to maintain high scoring rates in the final overs.
"With the ball doing a bit more at the back end of the innings, it will challenge the batters to figure out different ways to generate a strike rate," he added.
Young believes the change could influence batting strategies beyond the death overs, potentially prompting teams to adopt different approaches during the powerplay as well.
The single-ball system was last used in international cricket in 2011, before the International Cricket Council introduced the two-new-ball rule in one-day internationals. The system was subsequently revised, but the use of two new balls has remained a significant feature of modern 50-over cricket.
Reflecting on the proposed change, Young said the trial reminded him of watching older international highlights in which bowlers regularly used reverse swing to make scoring difficult towards the end of an innings.
"It reminds me of when you stumble across old international highlights, and watch the death bowling and you can see that the ball's a bit softer and reverse-swinging — and it's really difficult for the batter to score at more than a run-a-ball in those last 10-15 overs," he said.
The opening round of the Ford Trophy will see Auckland Aces face Canterbury in Auckland, while the Central Stags take on Northern Districts in Nelson. The Wellington Firebirds' match against Otago Volts, originally scheduled for October 28, has been moved to October 29 following flight cancellations.
The tournament will also provide teams with an opportunity to adapt to revised playing conditions ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup, scheduled to take place late next year.
NZC's trial is expected to offer an indication of whether using a single ball throughout an innings can restore a greater role for reverse swing and create a more balanced contest between bat and ball in the closing overs.
