I am often asked about cricket balls. What is the best? What is the cheapest? Why and which cricket balls break cricket balls? Etc. Etc. Etc. And sometimes I am unable to answer people simply because of a lack of knowledge. So I decided to do some research to see what I could find. I looked on YouTube. It was a waste of time. It contained very little information about how cricket balls are essentially assembled. I checked the ICC rules on Wikipedia on how cricket balls should be made and came up empty-handed. So finally I decided that finding out what is inside a cricket ball and how they are made is so difficult that I would cut some of them and see for myself.
Take a closer look at what’s inside a cricket ball
There will be tons of videos on YouTube that show how cricket balls are made but I couldn’t find any details to show what goes into all the different layers of cricket balls. This may be partly because some of the cricket balls I cut open only had 3 layers. (Rubber, String and Leather) But many would agree that the Kookaburra Turf Cricket Ball may be the benchmark all other cricket balls are modelled after. The Kookaburra Turf ball is used by 85% of all international Test matches worldwide to reflect the quality and prestige of the cricket ball.
The Kookaburra Turf Cricket Ball has a small (slightly smaller than a golf ball) cork/rubber core. Then 5 layers of cork/string are quilted. The leather is not just any old leather. Its hand-picked Australian first Class Alum is tanned steer hide and tough as nails.
The problem with this ball is that it retails for over $100 USD and let’s be honest, none of us can afford to throw around 5 or 10 of these at our local club practices. So what I will try to do in the blog is not to tell which cricket balls are the best, but to educate the everyday club cricketer so that they can better understand what is going on inside a cricket ball and maybe Also understand why so many modern balls are classified as bat breakers or perhaps lose shape, shine or hardness quickly.
Enjoy Cricket
Mv Sports Cricket Ball (Women’s and Men’s)
So what we see here from Mv Sports Cricket Ball (Women’s and Men’s) cricket ball is a medium/large cork-based nucleus. Probably 90% cork and 10% rubber (guestmate) this gives a ball a hardcore as applied to a rubber-based nucleus. Then there is 1 medium thick layer of cork on the outside which will help keep the shape of the ball. The Cricket Ball has a good amount of string wrapping and the plastic inner cap in this case appears to be 4 quarters instead of the two halves we find on some more expensive balls. I think 4 quarters are cheap and on cheap balls don’t keep the shape of the balls as usual, we get 4 quarter system instead of two parts. The leather once again appears to be of good quality and is quite supple and the exterior spray shows no signs of cracking or peeling. Rather it was flexible and seemed durable.
Cricket White Ball
This is a grade top spin white cricket ball. Immediately you will see a very black nucleus in this cricket ball. This means that the ball will be softer than a cork center ball but it can also mean that it can lose its shape more quickly. I have found balls that have soft cores like Grade Top Spin or the Boom Boom 130 ball are really good balls to use in the net. The reason for this is simple. Softer balls do not break the cricket bat like harder, less flexible balls do. My complaint about the ball would be the total lack of string inside the ball. If we look at the benchmark high-end balls they all have a good amount of string wrapping which will aid the flexibility of the balls and in this case, one would think that the rubber core in this case could break down from constant use. Luckily it’s a cheap ball at $8 and so can be easily replaced. On the outside of that, we get the inner plastic cap which was really well secured to the leather and I wasn’t able to separate it from the leather. My thinking is that this ball may be difficult to break because the interior of a cricket ball is well glued together to help the ball maintain its grip. As for the leather, I think the same leather and protective coating as the Gradidge County is used and the leather seemed tough yet supple and the coating never cracked or peeled off.
Red Cricket Ball
This topspin red cricket ball is exactly the same as the white ball you would expect. A difference was observed in the coating protecting the leather. Immediately you will see a very black nucleus in this cricket ball. This means that the ball will be softer than the cork centre ball but it also means that Balls with soft cores such as Graded Top Spin or Boom Boom 130 Ball are really good balls to use in nets. The reason for this is simple. Softer balls do not break the cricket bat like harder, less flexible balls do. My complaint about the ball would be the total lack of string inside the ball. If we look at the benchmark high-end balls they all have a good amount of string wrapping which will aid the flexibility of the balls and in this case, one would think that the rubber core in this case could break down with constant use. Luckily it’s a cheap ball at $8 and so can be easily replaced. Outside of that, we get the inner plastic cap which was really well secured to the leather and I wasn’t able to separate it from the leather. My thinking is that this ball may be difficult to break because the inner part of a cricket ball is well glued to help the ball maintain its grip. As for the leather, I think the same leather and protective coating is used as the Gradge County and the leather seemed tough but supple and unfortunately, the coating was prone to cracking a bit in this case.
Special Test Cricket Ball
The Grade Special Test Cricket Ball at first glance appears to be a good quality cricket ball. The inner parts of the ball are what you want to see in a cricket ball. A small core nucleus of cork and rubber. which is surrounded by 5 layers of cork and string. Then an inner plastic cap with leather over it to hold it. The grade special test also has 70 stitches which is a good amount. My only criticism would be the protective coating on the leather. It seemed very brittle and cracked really easily. It also gave the ball a very hard outer feel.
Now we can reverse this and say that maybe the outer shell of the ball is hard because it is a cricket ball designed for the North American market that is played on concrete carpeted slabs instead of something more durable. is needed As it happens I personally know the person who designed and made these balls, it is very likely. It will take some time for this hard outer layer to fall off. I feel that buying this ball is worth the risk and would appreciate you giving us your feedback on this ball once you have tried it in a few matches. The build quality of this ball is good and it will easily last 40 or 50 overs.
This player is a red cricket ball. I really like this ball. As I am trying to find a good alternative to use in the net it might be a ball like this that does the business. It is in a good price range. $24 and has a great build. Not perfect but a good mix of quality build construction and good value too. The nucleus is large but has a good mixture of cork and rubber. Then add a good amount of string and layers of cork that have 2. You have quarter plastic caps (though two halves would be better) and then nice rich dark red leather. I will be happy to test this ball in my next net session hoping for better performance. Where the concern comes in is the protective spray covering the leather. This layer seemed very brittle and not only cracked when the leather was bent but also peeled off very easily. Now once again it will be to see how it behaves on the cricket field. I would love to hear from anyone reading this article who has used one of these balls and would love to know what you think about it. I think it’s a good ball, the price and I think you should give it a chance.
Cricket Netball
It is essentially a ball very similar to the above cricket ball. The main difference is the extra cork layer and wires on the outside of the core nucleus. This coating will give the ball extra strength and stability. If the last ball was a good netball for the batsmen, it might be a good netball for the bowlers. The extra layer of cork and string will help the ball retain its original shape and the slightly smaller core means the center of gravity will also be more stable. Balls with the largest cores were made of Rubber and cork can cause too much rubber on one side of the ball which means the ball is “out of balance” and it will be very difficult to get a swing or keep the seam straight. The protective coating on this bat also looked pretty good. It didn’t seem to crack or peel like some other balls and had a consistent count of 69-70.
if you have any questions about cricket gear in general. How affect the cricket bat, what is the difference between different handles etc? Please feel free to ask.
