Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Other Gear => Topic started by: Liam-SCCC on March 27, 2012, 10:48:24 AM
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So, last night I picked up the clubs allocation of leage balls for this season. Looking to pick the best 6 for my first team.
Do you guys think the shade of red affects the swing of the ball?
Liam
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So, last night I picked up the clubs allocation of leage balls for this season. Looking to pick the best 6 for my first team.
Do you guys think the shade of red affects the swing of the ball?
Liam
Not really, no. Decent seam and quality of lacquer are more important.
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as above its the lacuqer/shine that makes a difference
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So, last night I picked up the clubs allocation of leage balls for this season. Looking to pick the best 6 for my first team.
Do you guys think the shade of red affects the swing of the ball?
Liam
I've heard that the darker the hue the more swing.
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Pink balls go like bananas
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I know the bowling coach at Leicestershire CCC and he said that they usually look for the darker coloured balls when they choose them
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We play with Dukes in our League - would definitely say that the darker they are the more they swing....
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We used to use dukes, which were lovely. Then crusader which were equally nice. Now we are payiing £10 a ball for hunts county 'sovereign crown, super A grade' balls. That don't swing, or maybe I've lots my banana swing I had when I was 15. They have to last 90 overs and are a right state by the end of the game.
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(http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc207/liam_sccc/f73c7c26.jpg)
What about balls with marking, almost black, down the ball
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Overhead conditions are the key factor in any game of cricket. Next down the list is the skill of the bowler or the wear/maintenance of the ball during play. I have a ex-team mate who did a thesis on swing and could get any ball to swing, so the ball has very little to do with it.
If you are picking "responsive" balls, I look for a ball with little lacquer and a decent seam. Little lacquer means less time to remove the crap they put on balls and start working on the actual surface. Getting a roughed up side is more important than shining, and more difficult to do on some grounds with lush pitches. A good seam acts like a rudder and helps to increase the swing. I would also look for a ball that's not a perfect round shape or the stitching looks a little high ie. something that could make the ball perform in an unpredictable way. Apart from all the above and not seeing a darker ball against a gloomy background I can't see any benefit in discoloration.
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Dukes balls definitely are the best, my league went back to them last year , prefer them much more and if you look after them for the whole innings they can still swing in overs 45+
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Overhead conditions are the key factor in any game of cricket. Next down the list is the skill of the bowler or the wear/maintenance of the ball during play. I have a ex-team mate who did a thesis on swing and could get any ball to swing, so the ball has very little to do with it.
Don't forget the ground surroundings as well. Grounds with plenty of trees around the boundary swing more than those without.
Having said that, I'm sure there is something to be said about the best kind of balls for swingers are big ones....
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If you are picking "responsive" balls, I look for a ball with little lacquer and a decent seam. Little lacquer means less time to remove the crap they put on balls and start working on the actual surface. Getting a roughed up side is more important than shining, and more difficult to do on some grounds with lush pitches. A good seam acts like a rudder and helps to increase the swing. I would also look for a ball that's not a perfect round shape or the stitching looks a little high ie. something that could make the ball perform in an unpredictable way. Apart from all the above and not seeing a darker ball against a gloomy background I can't see any benefit in discoloration.
Our equivalent guy - who could also swing a peanut with the shell still on, always said that he looked for a small, dark ball. Dunno what the science behind that would be but suspect there must be something to it because so many good swing bowlers say the same...or is it just received wisdom, that the smaller, darker balls swing more precisely because they're chosen by the best swing bowlers who are most likely to make it hoop?
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Side note - why is it that so many leagues are buying frankly awful balls nowadays?
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money - our league get a £3k per year kickback for using Readers. Balls don't swing or have a great seam and are nothing to write home about. A few complaints from clubs about the price and lack of swing. I reckon I can pick up better balls for £5-6 than the £13 per ball we get charged by the league. League won't change unless somebody gives them a better financial deal, ball considerations come second.
When I played in the TVL the balls were fantastic, swung all day, big seam and stayed hard even on rock hard decks, but I doubt the TVL skimmed as much money off the top.
On the small ball thing - sits better in the hand and makes it easier to manipulate with the fingers/wrist.
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We used to use dukes, which were lovely. Then crusader which were equally nice. Now we are payiing £10 a ball for hunts county 'sovereign crown, super A grade' balls. That don't swing, or maybe I've lots my banana swing I had when I was 15. They have to last 90 overs and are a right state by the end of the game.
i think we use similar hunts one. probably even the grade down from them. absolute rubbish!
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I can't really contribute to this much as my bowling is still shocking after I've started playing again and even when I was ok I mainly used to get movement off the seam - but does anyone have an opinion on what balls are decent and reasonably priced.
I heard the guys at my new team mentioning they were looking for new match balls and I think they usually pay about £12 per ball, no idea what make though. Just wondering if anyone can point out a good deal for me to pass onto them.
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i think we use similar hunts one. probably even the grade down from them. absolute rubbish!
Do you know what you paid out per ball? Ours (same league as Liam) are £10 per ball.
Crusader ones I think were the best we used
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i dont know for sure but i think its around £12 a ball. they really arent worth that though. dont have a choice which is unfortunate
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we have a choice of £12,£13 or £17 a ball.
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we have a choice of £12,£13 or £17 a ball.
lucky you. we have cash, cheque or bank transfer lol
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we have a choice of £12,£13 or £17 a ball.
Nick, Do you use a new ball each innings?
I'd be a bit annoyed if we provided a £17 ball and the oppo did a £12 ball!
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Always liked a small, dark ball to bowl with and lighter red to bat against. I think in the WEPL you provide the ball that you will bat against so always looking for big light red balls in the box !!
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Nick, Do you use a new ball each innings?
I'd be a bit annoyed if we provided a £17 ball and the oppo did a £12 ball!
not always but it can happen. You do get what you pay for. We found out the models before our first season in this league and tested each type in the nets. We concluded the £17 was the best in the hand/seam and swing but the £13 ball wasn't fair off. The £12 ball was disliked by everyone. That's been our buying policy since. Don't think many clubs buy the £17 ball, most go for the £12 one I imagine.
Regarding our usage, If we bowl first we tend to use a new ball, the only exception is if we know the oppo are rubbish and a bar of soap would do!. If we spank up a huge score batting first we tend to use an old one, something with 20-30 overs use ie. we bowled an oppo out cheaply but it still remains hard with shine. Due to the price of the balls, alot of clubs reuse balls, for example we ordered 24 balls for 40 matches (2 teams) this season in an effort to keep costs down (ball bill £317!). We are lucky that we have a few of balls from last season with minimal wear that can be polished up. Plenty of clubs end up using soft old balls with little or no shine. Some clubs are a bit devious and buffer up an old ball to swing from ball one - but it doesn't survive long.
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Interesting to know, My divi is different to Liams, a New ball for each innings. Just like anything- you get what you pay for!
(Liam, you should check this as they were trying to take it down a division per year!)
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We had compton house first game last year and they had come down from Div 2. Their umpire tried to make us use 2 new balls.
I hope it stays at 1 new ball, otherwise we are going to have to fork out some more money for rubbish balls!
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Going a bit off topic now
I liked the TVL method of 2 new balls, but the team bowling 2nd had the option of using the 1st Innings ball before reverting to their new ball. Opened up the possibility of using spinners on a dry track to winkle a couple of wickets out, before taking the new ball to blast through the middle order. Starting with an old ball also enabled a seamer to get a little swing with the extra wear.
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In the WARCL which I played in for the last 5 years there is a new ball in each innings, I think it makes the games much fairer
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I'm amazed to hear that so many leagues don't have a new ball for each innings. I play at a fairly low level and it's standard for us
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Yes me too. I play in low standard now but we still have 2 good quality new balls. Makes for a much better game.
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new ball every ingings
we use a dukes £22 quid a ball i think it is or something crazy.
have different cheaper balls for sunday league games they are about £18 a quid a ball.
in the 20/20 we dont use new balls cos they get lost lol
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new ball every ingings
we use a dukes £22 quid a ball i think it is or something crazy.
have different cheaper balls for sunday league games they are about £18 a quid a ball.
in the 20/20 we dont use new balls cos they get lost lol
i think my club would go under at those costs! we play sat and sunday leagues. both with new balls per innings. we have to supply our own ball saturday but supply both balls on sunday for home games( away team get choice). dont really know why. unless we get a home game rained off you still use the same amount of balls lol.
midweek for us is 12 8 ball overs or 16 6 ball overs depending on the league/ cups . only have new balls in the semi's onwards in the cups. can use whatever you want in the other games. i remember using what can only be described as a dog ball at an away game. didnt bounce when it was bowled. middled a full toss that went no where. suprise suprise it was 'lost' during the change of innings and a newer ball had to be used. still rubbish but atleast it bounced and went better off the bat .
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new ball every ingings
we use a dukes £22 quid a ball i think it is or something crazy.
have different cheaper balls for sunday league games they are about £18 a quid a ball.
in the 20/20 we dont use new balls cos they get lost lol
mad when you consider those Shamrock balls we used on Sundays were less than a tenner per ball. I'll show you the slaz and DF balls tonight, for the price the slaz in particular could do a 40 overs innings.
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Our balls cost £10, but the league has its logo put onto the side(which is a waste of money in my opinion, i'd rather spend money on good balls for good cricket than having a league logo) and the lacquer is thick. Crap balls really, seeming as tho Saturday balls cost the same, not much laquer, wears down at a respectable rate but allows the ball to be worked on.