Desperate to square the series against England, a couple of New Zealand bowlers will slip into ‘micro-shine’ trousers when the third Test gets underway at Trent Bridge tomorrow.

Though the trousers, made by Canterbury, are scheduled for an official debut in October, New Zealand players have been giving it a try and some of them would be wearing it tomorrow. Rubbing the ball against these trousers adds shine to the ball and it might influence the Kiwis’ bowling performance.

Dipal Patel, a former engineering student at Loughborough University, conceived the idea, even though he insisted that this was not against the spirit of the game. “When I came into cricket I was surprised to find there are no regulations about what materials you can and can’t use,” Patel told The Daily Telegraph. “To start with, we looked at putting two patches on the bowlers’ trousers — one to shine the ball, and one to scuff it up, in case you wanted to produce reverse-swing. But we have since dropped the abrasive patch. I’m a member of MCC, and I didn’t want to lose my membership for going against the spirit of cricket,” Patel said.