Cricket is one of the most historic sports in history, with test matches still being played over 100 years since the very first match. Cricket balls have always been a crucial part of cricket, and they have changed a lot over time.
Different Types of Cricket Balls
Red Balls
The red ball has been used in test cricket since the sport began over a hundred years ago. The ball is hard and round and is manufactured to produce incredible test match cricket. The ball has a massive influence on the result of the game and there are huge differences between the different types of red cricket balls. Cricket has three main red ball manufacturers which are; Dukes, Kookaburra and SG.
Dukes Cricket Ball
Dukes cricket balls are used for matches played in England and the West Indies. Dukes cricket balls began production in 1760 in Tonbridge and are well known to be incredibly high quality because they are handmade. They also tend to benefit seamers in home conditions.
The Dukes ball very often provides swing for bowlers particularly when it is new, producing a lot of movement, especially in English conditions. The ball tends to swing for around 50 overs which works well for test matches because they get a new ball every 80 overs in a test match.
Kookaburra Balls
Established in 1890, the Kookaburra cricket balls tend to be mostly used for matches played in Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and South Africa. They are considered the most popular cricket balls in the world because of how many different countries use them. They are produced differently from Duke’s cricket balls as they are factory-made in Melbourne, Australia.
The Kookaburra balls do not produce as much swing as Duke’s balls, only swinging for around 30 overs. These balls tend to produce much less for the bowlers as they get very soft when they get older, making it much easier for batsmen to produce shots. It tends to be that if you can get through the new ball period of the Kookaburra ball, there are big opportunities to score runs with the Kookaburra balls.
SG Cricket Ball
Used exclusively in India, Sanspareils Greenland’s cricket balls are very different to the other two, as it is manufactured slightly differently so that it is better for the spinners. The SG cricket ball has a wider seam than the other two, allowing the spinners to be able to grip the ball easier, producing more spin. It is one of the reasons why you see a lot more spin bowled in India.
The ball does not swing very much but does produce reverse swing after the first 30 overs as the ball gets older. The SG balls are much newer in test match cricket, only being approved in 1991, with all test matches in India now using SG cricket balls. Interestingly, India’s former captain Virat Kohli much prefers the Duke’s cricket ball over the SG.
Pink Cricket Ball
Day-Night Test matches have started to become a much more common part of test match cricket, particularly in the last five years, with Australia and New Zealand contesting the first day-night test match in November of 2015, with Australia winning by three wickets. Since then, there have been 18 day-night test matches, with Australia becoming very dominant having not lost any of their 10 day-night tests.
When these new test matches were introduced, international teams knew that the red balls would not be suitable as they are hard to pick up in darker conditions. This is why the pink ball was introduced, having been developed in the 2000s for exactly this purpose. They were preferred to red balls because they deteriorate much slower than white balls.
There are very few differences between the pink and red balls other than the colour as they are both designed for test match cricket. There is one big difference between the two which is that the seam of the pink ball is more firm and pronounced which helps the players to grip the pink ball a lot easier than the red ball.
The ball has been very helpful in producing exciting day-night test match cricket, but there have been some complaints. The pink ball is still not easy to pick up at times for batsmen because of its unique colour and this makes batting with the ball a bit more difficult. But it is a great option for day-night tests and we will see a lot more pink cricket balls in the future.
White Cricket Ball
Limited over cricket is certainly the newer form of the game, with T20 cricket being pushed by the huge amounts of franchise cricket we see played around the world. The Red Cricket Ball was never going to be good for limited-overs and high scoring, as the ball is difficult to hit big, especially in the first twenty overs. So the white ball was introduced and has is now probably more widely used in cricket than the red ball.
There are some big differences between the red and white cricket balls. The white ball was designed for fast scoring limited over cricket, so it deteriorates much quicker than the red ball so that it is much easier for the batsmen to hit. There is also not much grip on the ball, so it does not give much to the spinners.
But the white ball does benefit the bowlers in one way. The ball is much smoother than the red or pink ball which means that it can swing from a very early stage and as the ball wears very quickly, white cricket balls can produce some reverse swing as an innings move forward. Especially elite bowlers can get some movement out of the white ball, but it still is kinder to batsmen.
Common Questions on Cricket Balls
How much does a cricket ball weigh?
The weight of cricket balls tends to vary slightly. Men’s cricket balls have to weigh between 155.9 and 163 grams, with the Women’s cricket balls weighing between 140 and 151 grams. Junior cricket uses smaller balls that weigh slightly less. They tend to weigh between 133 and 144 grams. The ball can still do a lot of damage despite not weighing much.
How much does a cricket ball cost?
Cricket balls tend to vary massively in their cost. Often, basic balls from Kookaburra, Dukes or SG tend to cost as little as 608RP, with them getting more expensive as the quality increases. The ball tends to get shinier and higher quality as the price increases. International cricket ball prices tend to be higher than normal cricket balls. They can cost up to 10141RP.
What are cricket balls made of?
Cricket balls are generally made up of three different materials which are Leather, Cork and String. The core of the ball is made up of cork, with the string used to wrap lots of different layers over the ball to make it stronger as it can hit the bat at speeds over 90MPH. They need to be as sturdy as possible.
After the layers of cork and string, Leather is used to warp both of these. It means that the most common types of cricket balls are leather cricket balls. The leather has then dyed the colour that the ball will be whether that is Red, White or Pink. The cork in the balls is what makes them so solid and it is why protection for batsmen was introduced because of how dangerous a cricket ball can be especially when it hits someone in the head.
Cricket Tennis Balls
Very often, when cricket is played recreationally, tennis balls are used. Usually, these games will just use normal tennis balls that are very light and very easy to hit. But there are also tennis balls that are designed for backyard cricket. This is because they are heavier than normal tennis balls.
These balls tend to weigh about 120-130 grams which makes them a lot better for cricket practice because they are closer to normal cricket balls.
Fastest Ball in Cricket
The fastest ball in cricket history was bowled by Pakistan seamer Shoaib Akhtar. Bowling against England in Cape Town in the 2003 World Cup, he clocked in a ball at 161.3 km/hr. The ball is still yet to be beaten. The ball used for the 2003 cricket World Cup was the Kookaburra white ball. Akhtar was able to get a lot of pace out of the Kookaburra ball.
There is a lot of different cricket balls to choose from, and they do a lot of different things. I guess it just means that you need to do your research before choosing which ball to knock over batsmen’s stumps with!