However the first-class ball remains the best ball and, apart from the Kookaburra ball, is still hand-made, at least stitched. The core of the ball is now very different from the cork square; while cork is still used it now forms a rounded shape and in some cases is mixed with a rubber compound. (I wonder if this change has led to the ball behaving differently.) Quite often, after the ball has pitched it swings violently as it passes the stumps towards the keeper. This happens a lot more than it used to!

The Australians were first to use the machine-made balls, moving away from the costly product of hand finishing. Most companies have the same facility now for their cheaper or artificial ball ranges.

The quality of leather used to make a good ball is a key factor. Most Southern Hemisphere leather is too dry because of the heat and cracks too quickly while Northern Hemisphere hide is much easier to work with. Top-quality cricket balls are made from the best-quality cow hide.

The centre of a cricket ball for years was a square piece of cork which the craftsman used to wind special cotton until it was round. The outside of the ball was made with four pieces of leather, and stitched by hand. The craftsman's fingers have to be deft and strong. The whole process is worth going to watch if you get the opportunity.

At international level there are three basic balls used. In the UK the Duke ball, in Australia, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, South Africa, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and New Zealand the Kookaburra, and in India the SG ball.

Naturally the manufacturers are all trying to get as much of the market as possible, and there are also numerous other manufacturers who are trying to get into the market. Most coaches and boards are approached regularly to consider using the balls supplied.

There is either a general ignorance about how to test a ball, or people are not bothered and they enjoy the ball that they are using. It is difficult for a new compnay to get into the market, with the prestige that goes with it. Most balls get tested and lost, so the top manufacturers continue to hold sway when it comes to the Test match and one-day market. In fact, the Kookaburra has the whole one-day international market.

This is only a brief history of the cricket ball and I reckon the battle for the Test cricket ball would make an interesting story. Some of the domestic battles too would make interesting reading. Take away the political side, though, as it is important to understand what affect a ball has on the game

• The Duke & SG balls are both handmade while the Kookaburra is machine-made.

• The subtle differences are the treatment of the leather surfaces and the height and quality of the seam.

• The Kookaburra is generally redder in colour and swings from the word go, and for the first 30 overs is quite difficult to play against on a helpful surface

• The Duke is a much darker red (enjoyed by the bowlers), does not swing from the start but as the lacquer used on the ball wears off, it swings conventionally.

• Please note that in the Duke ball in the subcontinent and Africa the external surfaces wear away very quickly and therefore it does not last long in the harder rougher conditions.

• The SG ball is redder in colour and almost identical to the Duke but hardly swings at all. Contrary to the words of many commentators, the SG ball is not easy to reverse swing and it offers no greater reverse than the Kookaburra balls.

• The Kookaburra keeps its shine longer but starts to soften after 35-40 overs and batting becomes a lot easier as it seems to get softer and loses the seam. Reverse swing is less than the Duke ball.

• This is only in the UK because, as I said earlier, the Duke ball cannot survive subcontinent conditions because of the way the leather is treated.

• SG retains its seam but can become fat in the hand. The spin bowler can get the grip and purchase he needs from the seam and therefore in India where the pitches turn predominantly they are preferred.

• The Duke ball is excellent for English conditions. Tt starts to shine up after the initial lacquer has worn off. In the swifter conditions it swings and the larger seams are needed for the slower conditions. It also reverses well as Simon Jones showed during the Ashes series in 2005.

Generally, and it is reflected by the countries using the balls, they reflect the bowlers requests. The bowlers prefer to use the Kookaburra which swings although every spinner will tell you he likes to grip the SG ball. In the UK the Duke ball is favourite.

In general the International and county players prefer a ball that feels small in the hand, not too heavy, and darker in colour. There are, of course, regulations already about size and weight.

Probably the major issue throughout cricket is the shape of the ball and how the shape is retained. Many inferior balls go out of shape very quickly: these can be found two-a-penny in club cricket throughout the world. These balls are usually cheap, have substandard centres and tend to feel very hard on the bat and have been known to break bats. They are generally made in the subcontinent and fulfill the budgetary needs of the cricket clubs.

The cost of an international-class cricket ball is far too expensive for the average club. You can pay 10 times more for a top quality ball than a cheap club ball, hence the battle for position.

I believe that there is a need to standardize the cricket ball and by using technology make sure that:

a) The ball will not go out of shape. The centre of the ball should be standardised so that the bounce is consistent (on a concrete surface – bounce cannot be consistent on an uneven pitch

b) The leather should be treated as the Kookaburra ball is and last longer in all conditions.

c) The seam should be made of a standardised thread and be as tough as possible to a given height, and all balls should conform to these parameters.

I also believe that, in order to prevent tampering with the ball, the bowlers should be allowed to rough the ball in the batsman’s footholds (as they used to be in the 60’s), under supervision, to allow reverse swing. At least then it would be legalised.

Manufacturers might baulk at the cost of providing the technology for this to happen but in the end the game would be far better for it.

hi

i had lot of doubts about the balls used in the sub continent and away, most of them cleared thanks for that article, it was worth reading it

The 2nd last para of the article is totally rubbish as far as I am concerned, this is coming from an ex-High profile manager of the ICC. That idea is simply an opinion with many others cricket fan(s) around the world, otherwise a potent attempt of slippery slope suggestion.

As to various description such issues were not the cause in 80's & 90's. Apparently Kookaburra is trying to become the Microsoft of cricketing world.

ICC do curtail about the size and shape of the ball and there are decent measures, as to what kind of the cork to be developed into a ball. and if the ball meets the criteria set by ICC without discrition whether the ball is from North or Southern hemisphere its 100% legal, only question remains if the particular board & coach wants to use that ball or not.

If ICC wants to make the Test cricket more exciting since this topic is more relevant to it, then why not change the over’s limit from 80 to 65-75 over’s which will surely spice up things from bowlers perspective and why not allow couple of bouncers instead of one. For the climate, conditions and soil in various countries are concerned then ICC should prepare a team and do a research and then prepare the balls themselves, otherwise the notion is a false premises as well.

Last but not least, if you make something too rigid it will always break like the 15' degree rule for bowlers.

Well really informative, but Waqar Younis said that it was better to use the Duke balls.. but maybe he was wrong.

PS. Pakistan playing great right now. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

well standardizing everything is first of all not possible i think. and even if it is then it will take off the charm of cricket. if you know how much every ball is gonna bounce (mind me you can read the pitches too) or how it is going to move then there will be no surprises which cricket is i think all about. anyways you have experience in what you are talking and you probably know that better.

A very informative article giving a interesting glance into the technicalities of manufacturing, characteristics and behavior of cricket balls. Well, at least for a layman like me.

I believe it is always better for cricket if the variables affecting the behavior of the cricket ball could be standardized so that the evaluation of the performances of bowlers could also be rational helping to minimize the controversies related to the brand of cricket ball used in a match.

Moreover, if this standardization could make cricket more evenly matched, Why not?

I guess Bob Woolmer has managed to cover in quite a lot of facts, but i would like to hear a sub-continent great like Kapil / Imran's view on the same as i feel they would be in a better off condition to comment, due to the fact that they have played in sub continent and abroad. Maybe Cricinfo is listening and can help ?

Woolmer,(if u r the one coaching PAK's)

The posting time of this article is at the crunch time of PAK SRI 1st test. !!!WE POOR PEOPLE PAYING U TOO MUCH FOR COACHING US, !!!Please!!!!.
Concentrate

[Editor's note: Bob did not post this at the time of the match, and the piece was sent to us a day ago. We posted it on his behalf.]

Hello Bob,

Thanks for the insightful article, it answered some queries i had about cricket balls. I like the kookaburra ball but im not sure the ones we use are the same as the one's that go for International matches.

Good luck for the Sri Lanka series..your team has battled well to earn a draw out of the 1st test. Do the pitches there ease out as opposed to wear out as the match goes on ? The 2nd innings scores tend to suggest that.

I enjoyed reading your article about the various types of cricket balls used and the prefrences of the bowler. However it comes to mind that a machine made ball would remove the feeling of suspense that is involved with changing the ball midway during a test match. i know to an international coach this may sound frivolous, but consider what happened to west indies recently. it adds more to the game if the ball is as much of a suspense as the pitch. also, if a handmade ball can produce the qualities that you spoke of, then we may have a really potent weapon for the bowlers, as it would not only require skill but also resolve to face the changed ball.

Hi Bob,
as you said this is but obvious that english men will prefer for duke, subcontinent guys will go for SG amd so on...
does ICC thinking to standardise it all over the world. and you dident mentioned your openion on this topic what should be done to avoid any such crises.

looking forword for some response from you.

thanks and best reagards
Abhijit

Don't you think bowlers will try to exploit the rule, if they are allowed to rough the ball in the footholes?

Very interesting article...

I met with you at the ICC champions trophy press conference in Egnland in Sept of 2004...

Excellent article by Mr. Woolmer. Undoubtedly, it is this knack of collecting the right information that makes him a formidable coach.

Hi Bob !

You are doing good things for Pakistani cricket and I hope you continue with that.I am a great fan of test cricket. Your article is really interesting. I am not sure roughing one side of the ball will ever be implemented but atleast standardizing theball maybe can. Especially in Pakistan we recently saw that Kookubura balls are worthless. Keep up the good work. I hope that our team continues to do well

The era of the cottage industry product, at the very least at the Test level, ought to be brought to a close. The impact forces and controlling the dynamics of a cricket ball are technologically complex processes the understanding and tuning of which will forever remain beyond the resources of the cricket ball industry.

The problem of course is the administrators of cricket , the Home Boards and the ICC seem to be unable to think out of the box. The only balls makers they go to are the ones they are familiar with - Kookaburra, Dukes and in India the SG. Well, if these were able to do better, they have had a long, long run at doing so. It is time to conclude that resolving the problems are beyond their wit , resources and technology and look for someone with the technology to address the problems and SOLVE them. This may sound a counsel of perfection or day dreaming but such a company does exist, produces balls but cannot get USAGE and without usage of the balls the technology is unable to refine and tune the ball.

In a normal business environment, faced with a problem, the user would commission a manufacturer based on a study of their technological capabilities and work with them to produce a product that suits their needs. Not so with cricket! All the administrators seem capable of doing is praying the same manufacturers may somehow come up with a solution. They cannot. Decades of giving them a free run at it MUST surely have an obvious message.

I think this is an exceptional analysis of the "strengths" and "weaknesses" of a cricket ball, something which may seem irrelelvant to those who dot follow the game as keenly as many die-hard fans do. I just had one question- Whis is it that the white balls used in limited-overs cricket swings more than a red one? Does it swing more? or is it just a belief that has strenghened over the years?

Wow! Great article, Bob. I really hope alot of people read this.

Seems to me there should be more thought about the process that goes into making the balls. Maybe we should get back to making balls with square cork, etc. Take a look at history and see what can be done to level the playing field. Bat making has been allowed to progress in favour of the batsmen. Now it is time for the bowlers to get some slack. Otherwise we might as well be bowling golf balls at them.

I think it would improve the game greatly to see attacking cricket from batsmen and bowlers. Bastmen can hit further, higher and harder now. That is exciting and entertaining. Imagine how entertaining it would be if they were attempting that against quality swing and seam bowling?

Batsmen shouldn't be allowed to just play through the line and hope for the best. Yes, the game is naturally geared to favour bowlers but historically the great batsmen succeed despite the odds being against them. Too many batsmen survive and prosper these days because conditions favour them heavily. Test cricket should be exactly that - a TEST of skill and temprament against the odds. Only the best should survive!

Another kind of ball that was used in England until recently was Reader.

I remember from Wasim Akram's autobiography that during their 1996 tour they used to toss for the choice of ball as well before the game. The Pakistanis always preferred Reader because apparantley it helped reverse swing.

Wasim won all three tosses for the ball and the series 2-0.

I agree with the coach, ball manufacturing/ treating technologies need to be standardized. Considering how the game is catering for the batsmen and pitches seeming to be developed with promoting maximum runs perhaps its time for the ICC to rethink its policy of allowing bowler just one bouncer an over. I feel this works to the batsman's advantage considering the nature of the modern game, bowlers need more freedom to rip loose. Imagine Shoaib Akhter or Brett Lee throwing 3 or 4 bouncers an over... I think batsmen would approach the game differently. Plus it might just lead to a resurgence of the dieing art of hooking and pulling infact its been ages since I saw a batsman up on his toes defending a ball on his chest.

hi,

This artical helps much to get some knowledge about the cricket balls.... thankyou for the artical.

Hi,
We often use in our club third Class ball's because we don't have much Budget to buy Quality balls,

HAQ

Thanks Bob, I am quite impressed to see that you have a great eye on all the issues of the game.

As a spinner there does seem to be differences in the differing brands and quality of ball used at club level.

I've noticed that some seem to retain their spin somewhat better, especially compared to the cheaper varieties. Something to do with the way the cores are constructed or the weight of leather used perchance?

I imagine there are a lot of players out there using cheap club balls, especially at 2nd and 3rd XI standard, who don't realise what they could do with a better quality ball.

good article, it surely cleared some of my doubts regarding the different type of Balls used, but am i right in feeling that you are more of a Kokaboora Ball fan?

Just a few questions seeing that there is so much info on the balls here. I'm in Australia, and the general consensus is that the cricket balls from india (ie. the SG balls), are "bat breakers"

They are alot harder than the Kookaburra's we use here, and increase the likelihood of breaking the bat. Is this true or just some sort of rumour?

a very enlightening piece indeed. I always wondered what the fuss was about Duke and SG balls. this article sure paints a clearer picture.

Thanks for the info. Research must be done by kookabura(who has control over whole ODI market and must be making alot of cash) to design a ball that lasts for 50 overs, prominent seam and all. I for one strictly believe that batsmen have too much control over the game. They used to be exciting in the 90s with max scores of abt 300. The sight of Wasim coming in at abt the 40th over and winning the game with the ball where the batsmen were cruising at first, is what I call THRILLING CRICKET. Infact, I have come to dislike batting. I seriously only watch test matches, or ODIs if talented bowlers are bowling, for e.g. recent revelation Munaf Patel. We need more balance in the game, and not more slogfests, but THRILLING MATCHES.

It was a wonderful article, and very informative, and perhaps will go a long way in making people understand what is the difference between different balls. I completly agree with Bob on a standardized ball issue, its long time overdue and its about time ICC starts to think about it. The whole issue is about making it simpler for the bowlers, so that they don't have to deal with different balls on every home and away tour. Batsman get their chance to choose equipment, so at least we can allow the bowlers to know what to expect. Also, it just might balance the game out in terms of runs made and wickets taken.

Other then the bowlers, it will also make it easier and simpler for the batsman, they will only have to adjust to the condtions on the grounds, the hotels, the bowlers, and not the ball itself. Just to round it off, the conventional swing or the reverse swing in a ball should be dependent upon the conditions of the ground, the pitch, the atmosphere, and how much work has been put into the ball by the bowler and the fielders, and not on how differently a ball is made, or what color the ball is.

Great article Bob, really professional and addresses the issues at hand with clarity. How about an article about the progress of the Pakistan side under your supervision, whether they have fulfilled your expectations?

A good read. The way cricket has changed dramatically and became batting dominant in the recent years, the article helps in understanding a few of the reasons. I assume this is probably a considerable factor of different cricketing condition around the world as well.

Dear Bob,

Tks for the extraordinary insight. Few of the misconceptions do get cleared, with this. And again while we all theorise too much, it remains that good bowlers will do with any ball really. The 2 Ws reverse swung with any ball that they had. While the protruding seam of the Duke or SG helps but they have done the reverse elsewhere too (which means with Kookaburra). Warnie spins it anyway despite a brand or otherwise. So does Murali. However today, when the bats are becoming a menace with every passing day, why can't Kookaburra (if that is going to be tomorrow's standard internatinal ball, with it's clout!) also come up with a 'higher' seam, just to bring in a sort of standardisation. Surely since it is machine made, the issue can be addressed. But i am not so sure of the shape though, with all the battering that it receives and with boundaries shorter these days, they invariably are hitting metal sheets of advertising, steel fences, or concrete (there are hardly any picket fences anywhere anymore near the boundaries) and i doubt if even the KB manufacturers can handle that!!

It was nice as always to read Bob's article. I also agree that the balls should be standardised and i believe that ICC should get involved probably in the manufacturing of it as it has the resources to experiment and come up with something good.It is something so important to the game that i don't think it can be ignored for long. As far as roughing up the ball artificially is concerned i don't agree with Bob on it as setting a limitation on it would be close to impossible and bowlers might go a little overboard with it but i believe that ICC while getting the balls made should take technology's help in making sure that the surface is such that bowlers don't need to get out of the way to rough it up.

Very informative article about the technicalities of different types of balls used, but i do not agree with standards imposed on ball manufacturing....takes the romance out of cricket. (props to Mike Sims for his post about reader balls...good work)

my suggestion is...allow ball changes after 50 overs not 85....and get rid of the sissy bouncer rules...it was always a sweet challenge to egg the bowler to try one more bouncer at the risk of getting hooked or pulled to the boundary...or gettting hit on the helmetless head..if u miss it....

Obviously there's much more practical knowledge here than most of us can counter, but regarding this point ---"The SG ball is redder in colour and almost identical to the Duke but hardly swings at all. Contrary to the words of many commentators, the SG ball is not easy to reverse swing and it offers no greater reverse than the Kookaburra balls."---- If this is true, then we should see more reverse swing in Aussie tests, which we don't. Sure there is some in Pakistan, but I think, from t.v. evidence, there is more reverse swing in India, and now English bowlers did well in recent Ashes. Let's see how they do in the next Ashes, maybe that will change our perception.

But as someone else requested, it would be a good idea if cricinfo can get some more practical opinions on this subject, and not just the t.v. and scorecard critics :-)

It was interesting to read your views about 'roughening' the ball in the footholes. I think it will help the bowlers immensely. I think they can be allowed to do this atleast toward the end of the innings say, around the 40th over. And atleast make scoring towards the death more competetive. And make the game more balanced. I suggest the ICC make these kind of changes that will genuinely help the bowlers instead on cometic ones like the supersub that actually favoured the batsman.

PS: I hope that you cover this subject more extensively in your next posting

That Readers ball post by someone is spot on, Pakistanis did prefer that brand and it reverse swung miles in both the series' 1992 and 1996 in England. May be it should be brought back instead of the Kookaburra and Duke?

i have a question.. why is it necessary to have a ball made up of leather.. i mean it was the only way the ball could have been used in early days.. but now so much technology is there so why not find an alternative (very similar) to the ball nowadays used.. which would survive in all conditions and would also swing and will also be good enough for batsman to hit..

isnt that possible/? i think it is. SO what do u say?

Hi Mr. Woolmer,

I have been following your articles with great interest. I must say that all the info was highly educational, very comprehensive and presented in a very readable (user friendly :-) format.

That said, I still believe that the cottage industry should be allowed to survive. Unlike baseball (yeeech) where the ball is changed if even one thread is out of place, cricket incorporates and cherishes the variable behaviour of the cricket ball and this adds the extra spice in the game. Take that away, and it would diminish the game and make it into something very mechanical.

Well, that was my two cent's worth.

P.S: Considering how hot it always is in the sub continent, ever thought of changing your name to Cottonmer instead of Woolmer??!!! ^_^

I have learnt a lot about cricket balls which I was not aware of in the past, thanks for the valuble information.

I found it interesting to finally put my finger on why the Aussies struggled in England last summer. I didn't realise that balls used world-wide actually had different qualities in swing, spin or life-span because of different materials and manufacturing techniques.

It certainly makes sense now why the swing bowling employed by the English quicks, seemed almost alien sometimes, to a team of individuals perhaps more used to different ball characteristics.

There are reasons for and against standardising cricket balls, but as long as it doesn't take away some of the mystery and intrigue of the contest then i'll go for whatever's best for the game.

Bob, I love what you have done for Pakistani cricket and the way that you have embraced and encouraged the culture of Pakistani team members. The article was a very interesting read as it filled holes in my knowledge for the manufacturing/testing/regulations of cricket balls.

However, suggesting that tampering is performed 'anyway', thus legalising and supervising ball tampering should be implemented, is just going to open a new can of worms.

The art of reverse swing as it is called now (before it used to be called ball tampering in Waqar/Wasim days) has more to do with weather, humidity , pitch conditions and the skill of the bowler than what ball they use. Why couldn't the australians do it when they were using the same ball in the ashes series?

What I found hilarious was when Mike Atherton was caught on the camera scruffing the ball, who came to his defence? It was not the english press but the great exponent of the game Imran Khan. He said the same thing what Bob is saying now. It has been going on for years and the sooner we acknowledge it, better for the game.

It is not which ball you use, it is how it is handled by players (scruff one side and keep it smooth and shiny on the other) makes it swing.

Standardising might be a good idea to make cricket a professional sport. But, retaining a certain degree of leeway to allow for the variety in cricketing cultures is crucial for the aesthetics of the game.

A range can be given for the seam position, thread make, etc.

But, what would be interesting is if the ICC consciously allows for a 'better' ball that makes cricket more interesting - by bouncing well, moving a bit more, etc.

Hi i would like to suggest that keeping in view a very busy and tight schedule of ODIs in the near future we should change the numbers of overs from 50 down to 35 or 38overs this will ensure it is neither that short like 2020 nor it is too lengthy like 5050. Hundred overs in a day who has enough time to watch and enjoy the game in this kinda life?

While appreciate the article of Mr. Woolmer on treating the ball, I must congratulate him on writing and raising this issue. It is really surprising that human being can go on Moon, can do anything beyond imagination but can not make a good cricket ball which could last 50 overs (I am talking about white ball in ODIs). If the authorities (ICC) can think and work on this issue, it is better for cricket.

There are other issues on which cricket legends/authorities /ICC must ponder over i.e. pitches and sight screen.

We waste a lot of time on the sight screen and sometimes the batsman gets out on account of loosing his concentration just because of sight screen.

We have had a lot of discussions regarding the pitches on India's tour of Pakistan. My questions is why ICC could not appoint their own curators so that we play cricket on one standandarized pitch???

That was a great article, i never knew about the cricket ball that much thanks. I have just one question and may be its a strange one but since you are attached with the pakistani cricket I am really interested in knowing your views about it.
Q: In most part of pakistan(except the club level),particularly street cricket in karachi we use to tape the tennis ball so that it can go faster and also because it grips the surface and swings more than ordinary tennis ball and one another reason is because it is easier to hit this ball to a distance. My question is do you think that, this has any effect on the pakistani cricketer especially bowlers as most of them started playing cricket on street with taped ball. another comment which im looking forward to hear from you is on the matter that most of the star batsmen dont prefer to play with this ball as they say it will effect your hard ball game. how far is this statement true.
thanking you in anticipation and will wait for ur views.
In the end i like to congratulate you and thank you on your excellent effort for pakistani cricket and team

Mr. Woolmer,

Thank you for the very interesting and informative article on cricket balls.
I feel the host country should be in a position to decide what ball is to be used for a particular Test or ODI series. Why is it that only Kookaburra, SG and Duke balls can be used for international matches? Is this an ICC directive? From what I understand only England, Australia and India seem to have the option of using a 'homegrown' ball as it were whereas all the other countries have to use the Kookuburra.
Is this through choice?

By the way good luck with Pakistan. I feel together you can both achieve great heights.

Interesting article - but one shouldn't get confused between opinion and fact. All the analysis about the different types of balls is Bob's opinion in my view - since I have heard many a bowler contradict it. Imran Khan spent a considerable amount of time during the Indo-Pak series recently trashing the Kookaburra ball, Waqar isn't a big fan either and Harbhajan's dislike for it is well known - so much for Bob's assertion that bowlers love it. And of the many points made, only one mentions the need of spinners - so much for a balanced perspective. As regards standardising the ball - the number of arguments against it are just too many, with the basic point being that cricket is not a standardised game - so much for understanding and respecting the nuances. On the face of it, a thoughtful, balanced and well researched article - scratch the surface a bit and you see that there's perhaps few pet themes being flogged here ...

Isn't it true that Readers is still used in English County Cricket? How does the Readers behave?

The Darker the Cherry, The Sweeter the Taste, Long Live Dukes. On a separate note Mr. Woolmer, I am worried about the quality of the White ball that will be used in the next World Cup; I still have nightmares about James Anderson's spell in S.A against Pakistan- I think day night Cricket turns the World Cup into a lottery-the swing of the Ball is just too different for Day and Night Sessions, is there any chance that the WC games can all be Day games? The W. Indies are all Islands, except for Guyana, but surely the Moisture in the air at night makes it very difficult for batsmen?
I want to see a fair Series in 2007 because i think the WC in S.A was (with other factors) anything but. The White ball will always be discoloured so the way to get around that would be to have 2 White Balls from Alternate ends from the beginning of the innings and neither of them can be changed for the ENTIRE innings. If Both ends of the PITCH can be different and cannot be repaired, why should that not apply to the Balls used. 2 white balls for each end and you're stuck with what you've got . I watch Cricket for the Players and the ladies in the ground, not to watch Umpires get together every chance they get and wasting my time.

Thanks for the article. What i found worrying is that the price of a good ball today puts them out of the range of the ordinary club - and presumably school. While first class cricket is obviously important, the game still belongs to the average weekend player. Standardisation should help to improve the game at the lowest levels.

hey watever the comments on your article, it was very very informative and it would be nice if you could provide som more insight into the making of bats balls stumps protection helmets etc.

keep up the goodwork

You'll never see standardisation down to club level, the international quality balls are simply too expensive.

We played with a Reader test quality ball once and it lasted for 6 games with hardly a mark on it until lost. Simply no comparison to the cheap club balls which can be out of shape and scarred within a few overs.

I'd love to see bowlers allowed to rub one side of the ball in the muck to help swing it. As long as the fielding side isn't performing surgery on the ball I don't see what it has to do with the batsman.

Yo Bob,

Suggest a ball that is conducive to conditions in Pakistan specifically. Preferably, the ball should be similar to the Kookaburra but a bit harder and with a more pronounced seam which doesn't wear down so quickly. With this probably, reverse swing would naturally occur for longer periods of time. The sort of flat decks being produced in Pakistan, this would give atleast some respite to the bowlers. Or may be we can drill some modicum of sense in the concerned authorities to flush the grounds with 'Australian grass'. They have no objection in using Kookaburras ... then what's the vacillation about? They are pretty rich these days ... good lush green grounds would not only help the cricket balls but cricket itself as well.