Are you willing to play cricket and become a cricketer in Future? Playing cricket indeed requires a lot of practice and also it requires a hard work. Daily training activities always helps a cricketer to grow better day by day. However, if you have started to devote your time for cricket then definitely you need to know more about the cricket ball. The best cricket ball to play with will definitely help every batsman to practice shots as well as the bowlers to bowl perfectly just to perform better in matches. However, the cricket balls are used for many reasons and there are different balls available which people opt for practice and also for playing professional matches. Here is a guide on How to choose a cricket ball!
Contents
1. Materials & Manufacturing
One of the major things which you should always have a look is the Materials & Manufacturing of the ball. But before that, you need to know a lot of specifications. The core of the ball is made up of three and five alternate layers of wrapped cork strips and is tightly wounded by a string.
These two elements generally ensure that the cricket ball is able to bounce and also keep the shape. The outer layer of the cricket ball is manufactured with fine layer of leather. Each of the hemisphere is stitched from inside and is taken care so that the seam can rotate at an angle of 90 degrees.
The seam of the ball is probably one of the major things which you need to go through. If the seam is sharp, the ball will generally swing more. However, if the seam starts to fade out, the ball will have a deviation and will spin.
2. Sizes & Weights
One of the major factors which you need to focus on is the size of the ball with which you shall play the match the size of the ball differs in each form of cricket including the Men’s cricket, the Women’s Cricket as well as the Junior Cricket.
The weight of the cricket ball for Men’s Cricket is approximately 155.9 grams while that of the Women’s is almost 151.5 grams. Also there is one more thing to look for.
Though every cricket ball seems to be evenly distributed, it is technically not true. If you observe closely, there will be on half of the ball obtaining more weight. The heavier part decides the swing of the ball. Thus if you are a swinger of the ball, choose a ball that has a heavier weight on either side of the ball.
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3. Colours
With the traditional day cricket developing with the new Colours, a lot of formats have changed to the introduction of different colours for playing the game.
If you are willing to play a match in the day time, a red ball can be preferable or else if you are playing in the night, a white ball is more preferable. Also there is one more factor to choose the colour of the ball.
If the sight screen of the ground is black, choosing a red ball will not be ideal. However, if the sight screen of the ground is white, you can opt for a red ball in order to see the ball properly.
4. Specialist Training Balls
In the modern era of cricket, there has been an introduction to many cricket balls which helps batsmen to get well trained. If you are looking for a ball with soft and synthetic materials, then you can try out the options of choosing the air cricket ball as they are generally very soft and also light weighed which is appropriate for children.
If you are not a professional, choosing soft air balls will certainly help you to play a master stroke in gully cricket. There is also a multi material cricket ball present which appears to be life a mixture of cricket and tennis balls. They are specifically designed to develop and also understand the control of swing.
Apart from these, the other types of materials available for training are the synthetic and light leathered balls which can be played at the nets. It is designed to help both the bowlers as well as the batsmen to develop their skills.
5. Purchasing decisions
Before you opt out to purchase a cricket ball, the first thing that should always come to your mind is the reason to purchase the ball. If you are willing to purchase the ball just to have casual fun, then you might just opt for playing with training balls.
However, if you are planning for some serious cricket, opting for a leather based ball is just a must. Here is exactly where the price comes into play. Beginners playing cricket can save their bucks in purchasing training balls while professionals need to purchase the higher end balls. You can also have a look into your budget in order to catch the best ball.
However, there are two more things which must come into play. If you are a batsman, choosing a softer ball will be much more essential. Thus you might opt to choose a ball that has lost its seam. However, if you are a bowler and willing to swing the ball, having a good seam is a must.
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Conclusion:
After each use of the cricket ball, try to remove the dust from the skin of the ball in order to keep the shine and the face of the ball clear. If you find the surface of the ball being rough, you can easily grab a water resistant leather conditioner and then polish it properly. However, while drying the ball, try to use a soft towel which will not damage the skin. The more shine the ball has, the better will be the swing of the ball. Try to avoid storing the balls from the rain in order to leave the moisture out. Opt for a dry surface to keep the balls.
