The Duke's balls to be used in the Cup have been altered in design and are now held together with a smaller seam than in the past.

The smaller seam may mean the ball may not swing as much as it used to. It would also mean the galaxy of medium pacers hoping to make merry in the heavy conditions in England would have to work much harder now.

The bowlers have always felt that one-day cricket was more a batsman's game with the rules favouring the willowers to make the matches high-scoring affairs, the logic being that spectators would be keen to see strokes being played.

South African speedsters Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock, who were the first to notice the altered design on the Duke's balls, believe the Cup may not be dominated by seam bowlers to the extent that many players had predicted.

The seam (six lines of stitches) helps a ball move in the airand off the pitch. The heavy atmosphere and soft wickets in England help the ball to swing more.

The roughness of the seam causes air disturbance after the ball is released, helping it move. Narrowing of the seam would mean a smaller rough area and less air disturbance which would cause less movement.

When the seam stands slightly above the surface of the ball, it causes friction with air as it travels. Flattening of this elevation would cause less friction and less movement.

``The ball will deviate less off the seam. It is very important for a new ball to have a prominent seam to aid movement. Otherwise, it would be very difficult,'' former Test cricketer Arun Lal says.

The logic behind altering the seam was mainly to get high-scoring matches which has not happened often in the three England-hosted Cups so far.

Of 114 matches, there have been totals of 250 or more only on 24 occasions -- Pakistan's 338 for five against Sri Lanka at Swansea in 1983 stands as the highest innings total so far. Thatwas in 60 overs a side matches.

Former National selector Sambaran Banerjee, however, feels it would not make much difference. ``It is good for the game because one-dayers are basically a batsman's game. It would lead to an entertaining World Cup,'' Banerjee says.

``I don't think the narrower seam would make a big difference. What Donald and Pollock have expressed is their personal opinion,'' he adds.

Managing director of Dukes, Dilip Jajodia, has admitted the balls have been altered a little but denied it was done specifically for the World Cup.

``For balls sent overseas we use linen thread as opposed to a cotton thread used on balls in England. But as far as we are concerned the difference should be minimal,'' Jajodia was quoted as saying.