Red balls were a huge success in all the Test matches played
round the globe. What was the need then to introduce a different colored ball
in the limited-overs cricket? Shouldn’t red balls be used in limited-overs
cricket as well? The answer is a both ‘Yes’ and a ‘No’! Going further into
details, Test matches were played during day time under the sun light and so
were the ODIs at the beginning.
However, to add more glamour to the game, ODIs were later played
under floodlights making white balls first choice owing to its more visibility
compared to red ball. Going forward, the national cricket boards started using
white balls for all the one-day matches even when they were not played at
night!
There may be balls produced by multiple manufacturers for
the red-ball format but currently just one manufacturer predominantly is ruling
the limited-overs format – Kookaburra! Though the leather used was identical (except
the dying) for both red-ball and white-ball, the latter one wears off very
quickly compared to the other.
Source: Times of India
And it was a proven fact over the years with lot of cricket
action around. It made it tougher for the match officials to run a full game
with just a single ball! However, it was managed very effectively later on to
overcome this issue. Let us get to those details later in our blog.
Kookaburra ball:
Going through the numerous number of interviews and archives
of ESPN Cricinfo and Cricket Monthly, we found out that Kookaburra white ball
was ICC’s official ball for all the limited-overs global tournaments. The
statement is simple without any hidden Terms and Conditions! However, this has
led to a great revolution across the cricketing world which changed the fate of
Kookaburra white balls!
Prior to drafting its playing conditions at the start of the
20th century, ICC decided to pick a ball for all its global tournaments. They
effectively looked for a ball that was used and successfully tested in each of
the hosting countries! So, they have decided to go with the White Kookaburra
ball. Following ICC’s decision, all the respective cricket boards started
playing with White Kookaburra ball to prepare players for the ICC global
tournaments.
Confused? So are we! Who started using the White Kookaburra first?
ICC or the Cricket boards? Cricket Monthly referred this to the never ending
debatable topic – “Which is first? Egg or the Chicken?!” The answer for the puzzle
is not very conclusive if one goes down the history books but somehow White
Kookaburra ball prevailed to excel and predominantly rule the limited-overs
cricket.
Wear and Tear of
White Kookaburra balls:
It was a tested and proven experiment that White Kookaburra balls
only last for around 30 to 40 overs making it difficult to spot them during the
fag end of an ODI innings. Between 2007 and 2012 in ODIs, ICC decided to change
the ball at the end of 34th over, replacing it with a reconditioned ball – ‘a
ball which is neither new nor too dull to spot’.
Before 2007, only one new cricket ball was used in each
innings except for two World Cup editions - 1992 World Cup jointly hosted by
Australia & New Zealand and 1996 World Cup in England. During the two
mentioned World Cups, two new balls per innings were used. However, for reasons
unknown, the practice has not been continued.
Alternatives to White
Kookaburra balls:
Dukes ‘red’ balls were used during the first four ODI World
Cups (1975 to 1987) and then starting from the 1992 WC edition, white balls
came into picture. Prior to 1992 WC edition, limited-overs cricket was played
in traditional whites and during day-light making red balls as the first
choice.
Dukes ball has a prouder seam compared to its rivals SG and
Kookaburra. All the six stitches forming the seam are manually stitched in case
of Dukes and SG. On the other hand, only the inner most two stitches on either
side of the hemisphere are manually stitched in case of Kookaburra making it
less effective compared to others.
White Dukes balls were used for the first time in the 1999
World Cup edition. It was also the only instance where white Dukes balls were
used in a World Cup edition. As per the stats available, most number of wides
per an ODI match in a World Cup were registered during that edition which is
over 20. Next best was 14 during the 2015 edition. In favorable conditions,
Dukes ball (be it white or red) swings more due to its prouder seam!
Owing to the fact, the Dukes ball was not considered for the
ICC global events since 1999. And by the start of 2003 World Cup in Africa, every
cricket nation got to a feeling that white Kookaburra balls are the official brand
for global events and started using them in their home games. Countries like
India who use SG for Tests, started using Kookaburra in their domestic circuit
as well.
Moreover, the background testing of white cricket balls
produced by other manufacturers did not come to a halt. BCCI in India,
partnered with SG to conduct both Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (T20 format) and
Vijay Hazare Trophy (List A) during the 2017-18 season. Two new SG balls per
innings were used for the List A games during the season. The results were
mixed as many players felt just a single SG ball per innings was enough for the
whole 50 overs.
On the other hand, using two new white Kookaburra balls per
innings also sidelined the reverse swing factor in the ODI format, thereby
making it easier for the batsmen to score runs easily. Moreover, ball remains
hard throughout the course of the match which gives full value to the shots.
Opinion:
White Kookaburra balls were tested effectively and have a
proven record across the world in the limited-overs format. Be it in a global
tournament or be it in a bilateral series, there is no match for Kookaburra in
the last twenty years. Considering the loop holes involved in its quality,
Kookaburra should take it seriously to upgrade themselves in the white ball
department. Or there might be changes happening soon to dethrone them from the
limited-overs cricket.
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