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The cricket ball is very different from the balls used in other sports. Cricket is the only sport where the ball is ‘pitched’ on before the batter hits it. The cricket ball is required to be perfect for this reason. The cricket ball material needs to be of excellent quality so that the ball maintains its shape and consistency. The cricket ball is made up of quite a few raw materials and the process of manufacturing a cricket is quite different as well.
The cricket ball materials include cork, linen threads, leather, wooden strings and a few other things. The cricket ball is smaller in size compared to the balls used in other sports like football, volleyball etc. Despite its smaller size, the cricket ball is very different from other sports which use a small-sized ball. The cricket ball is very different from the balls used in baseball, hockey, tennis etc.
Here, we will discuss the cricket ball material, the inside of a cricket ball, and a few other things. So, let’s start with the cricket ball material or the materials used to make cricket balls.
Best Materials for Cricket Balls
The raw cricket ball material includes cork, yarn, leather, wooden strings and linen threads (used for stitching and the seam). All of these materials are used to make cricket balls. All the materials from which the cricket ball is made are of high quality.
Cork is obtained from the bark of the cork oak tree. ‘Yarn’ is made up of wooden strings or linen thread. Leather sheets are a key material used to make cricket balls. High-quality leather is used to make cricket balls. Then linen threads are used to stitch the ball and the ‘seam’ of a cricket ball is also made up of linen threads.
After all this, the ball is pressed into the required shape and weight using machines. In the end, the cricket ball is polished to a high sheen and a layer of lacquer is coated on it before it is fit to be used in a cricket match. Every material used to make cricket balls is combined in the manufacturing process and eventually, the final product is a cricket ball that is used for playing the sport.
What Are Cricket Balls Made Of?
The inside of a cricket ball is made up of cork, wooden strings and threads. The core of the cricket ball is made up of cork. As mentioned earlier, the cork used to make cricket balls is obtained from the bark of the cork oak tree. It is the core of the cricket ball and provides the weight to the ball. The cork must be of high quality as it needs to hold its shape. A poor-quality cork may lose its shape quickly. The cork is then made in a round shape.
The two hemisphere pieces of leather are then stitched around the cork swathed in yarn. The leather used to make cricket balls is of high quality as it’s a very essential cricket ball material. High-quality leather lasts long without much wear and tear which is essential in cricket, especially in test cricket.
High-quality leather used to make cricket balls also helps the bowlers to swing the ball, particularly in test cricket where “reverse swing” is an important weapon for the pacer bowlers when the ball gets old. Reverse swing happens when the ball gets old with the bowlers “shining” one side of the ball. The leather must last long without any damage to achieve this.
Inside of a cricket ball
Multiple layers of ‘yarn’ are then swathed on the cork. Generally, the yarn is of linen threads or wooden strings. As many as 5 layers of yarn are there on the cork of a cricket ball. The multiple layers of yarn allow the cricket ball to bounce consistently. It also helps the cricket ball to hold its shape for longer durations despite the wear and tear on the cricket field.
After covering the cork with multiple layers of yarn made up of wooden strings or linen threads, the cricket ball is covered with leather. There are many leather sheets in a ball manufacturing process and many ‘hemisphere’ shapes are carved out from the leather sheets. Two parts or halves of leather covering are used in one cricket ball.
As technology has developed many machines are being used to swathe the leather hemispheres on the core of the ball. However, the old method of covering the cork wrapped in yarn from the hands is still very popular.
The leather is dyed in white or pink for limited overs cricket and day-night test matches respectively. Originally it is red. White and pink colours have better visibility during the night. ODI, T20Is and franchise cricket are mainly played in day-night formats in coloured jerseys so the white colour is ideal for that format.
Since tests are played in all whites, the ball colour can’t be used for day-night tests so the pink colour is used instead. For the test matches played in the traditional timings, the red cricket ball is used.
These are the inside of a cricket ball. All the materials used to make cricket balls are of very high quality to help the ball last long and maintain its shape and bounce. The cricket ball must stay consistent and for that, the cricket ball material used to make cricket balls must be of high quality.
Cricket Ball Seam
After the process of stitching the leather covering on the core of a cricket ball, the most important part of the cricket ball is made. It is the “seam”. The seam is the stitching in a cricket ball after the two leather hemispheres are stitched together.’
Importance of the Seam
The seam is stitched after the leather is covered up properly on the core of the ball. Many machines are used to stitch the seam but a hand-stitched seam is considered the best. The seam of the ball is very important as it helps the ball to swing, seam and spin.
The seam must be of quality as it also needs to last long without coming off. Linen threads are used to stitch the seam on a cricket ball. Different types of balls have different kinds of seam.
Types of Seams
Dukes Ball
The Dukes ball which is mainly used for test matches in England, Scotland, Ireland and the West Indies has a very prominent seam. As a result, the Dukes ball moves around quite a bit. The Kookaburra Turf Red, the most popular ball for test cricket doesn’t have a prominent seam like the Dukes ball and it stops swinging after a few overs.
SG Ball
In India, the SG balls are used. They also have a prominent seam which helps the ball swing quite a bit and once the ball loses its shine, the seam then helps the spinners to spin the ball. So, the seam is a very important part of a cricket ball.
After the seam is stitched, one last process is left which is to polish or shine the ball. All the cricket balls have a shine to them. That’s because the ball is polished to a sheen which helps in visibility, and movement and protects the ball against wear and tear during cricket matches.
A coating of “lacquer” is also applied to the balls. Lacquer is ‘resin’ extracted from trees and waxes. It is used as an extra layer of protection for a cricket ball. The layer of lacquer is different for different balls according to the brand or the format of the game.
Kookaburra Ball
The Dukes ball has a prominent layer of lacquer. It helps the ball to retain its shine for a longer duration which eventually results in the ball swinging and moving around for a long time. The white cricket balls that are used in limited overs cricket (ODIs, T20Is and franchise cricket) don’t have a strong lacquer coating. As a result, the white ball stops moving around after a few overs.
The Pink ball, which is used for day-night test matches has an extra layer of lacquer. It is applied to make sure the ball keeps its visibility during the night and lasts longer. This is the reason why the pink ball swings and seams quite a lot compared to the red and white cricket balls.
Cork vs Rubber Cricket Balls
There are many types of cricket balls. The leather cricket ball is used for playing the sport and the other types of balls are used mainly for training or while casually playing the game. The rubber cricket ball is another popular type of cricket ball used for playing the sport casually and for training as well.
There are some key differences between the leather balls and the rubber cricket balls like the cricket ball material, the inside of a cricket ball, things used to make cricket balls and a few other things.
The leather cricket ball is made up of cork, yarn, leather covering and threads. The rubber cricket ball is made solely from rubber. It lacks the core made from cork and yarn. The rubber cricket ball doesn’t last longer compared to the cork ball. The rubber ball bounces more than the cork ball and is lighter in weight.
Conclusion
This was everything about how cricket ball is made. Cricket ball material, inside of a cricket ball, what is a cricket ball made up of and what things are used to make cricket balls. It’s a different and fascinating process that will interest any cricket fan. Want to know more about cricket balls? Check out our guide!
Now, let’s move on to some frequently asked questions about cricket ball material, what is a cricket ball made up of, the inside of a cricket ball and the process that is used to make cricket balls.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do cricket balls come in different colours?
The cricket ball comes in different colours for different formats of the game. The red cricket ball is used for test matches as it’s easily visible in all whites. The pink match ball is used for day-night test matches. The white cricket ball has better visibility and it’s used for limited overs matches which are generally played at night.
What is inside of a cricket ball?
The cork wrapped in yarn is inside of a cricket ball. The cork and yarn provide the ball its weight and consistency in shape and bounce. A leather covering of two hemispheres is then stitched on the ball.
What is a cricket ball made up of?
The cricket ball is made up of a combination of cricket ball material. Cork, yarn and leather coverings are the main materials used to make cricket balls. Linen threads are used to stitch the seam of a cricket ball. The yarn covering on the cork is also made from multiple layers of linen threads.
What are the different things used to make cricket balls?
Many things are used to make cricket balls. Cork extracted from the bark of a cork tree, yarn made up of wooden strings or linen threads and then a couple of leather hemispheres stitched on the core are mainly used to make cricket balls.
