Sports Accessories

A cricket ball is a hard, solid ball used to play cricket. Constructed of cork and leather, a cricket ball is heavily regulated by cricket law at first class level. The manipulation of a cricket ball, through employment of its various physical properties, is the staple component of bowling and dismissing batsmen – movement in the air, and off the ground, is influenced by the condition of the ball and the efforts of the bowler, while working on the cricket ball to obtain an optimum condition is a key role of the fielding side. The cricket ball is the principal manner through which the batsman scores runs, by manipulating the ball into a position where it would be safe to take a run, or by directing the ball through the boundary.

In Test cricket and most domestic games that spread over a multitude of days, the cricket ball is traditionally coloured red. In many one day cricket matches, the ball is coloured white. Training balls of white, red and pink are also common, and wind balls and tennis balls in a cricket motif can be used for training or unofficial cricket matches. During cricket matches, the quality of the ball changes to a point where it is no longer usable, and during this decline its properties alter and thus influence the match. Altering the state of the cricket ball outside the permitted manners designated in the rules of cricket is prohibited during a match, and ‘ball tampering’ has resulted in numerous controversies.

Cricket balls, weighing between 155.9 and 163.0 grams, are known for their hardness and for the risk of injury involved when using them. The danger of cricket balls was a key motivator for the introduction of protective equipment. Injuries are often recorded in cricket matches due to the ball, and a small number of fatalities have been recorded or attributed to cricket balls.

Dangers of cricket balls

Cricket balls are notoriously hard and potentially lethal, hence today’s batsmen and close fielders often wear protective headgear. Raman Lamba died in 1998 when hit on the head while fielding at forward short leg in a club match in Bangladesh. Only two other cricketers are known to have died as a result of on-field injuries in a first-class fixture. Both were hit while batting: George Summers of Nottinghamshire on the head at Lord’s in 1870; and Abdul Aziz, the Karachiwicket-keeper, over the heart in the 1958-59 Quaid-e-Azam final. Ian Folley of Lancashire, playing for Whitehaven in 1993, died after being hit.

Frederick, Prince of Wales is often said to have died of complications after being hit by a cricket ball, although in reality this is not true — although he was hit in the head by one, the real cause of his death was a burst abscess in a lung. Glamorgan player Roger Davis was almost killed by a ball in 1971 when he was hit on the head while fielding. The Indian batsman Nariman Contractor had to retire from the game after being hit by a ball on the head in the West Indies.

Indian Cricketer, Raman Lamba died of a cricket ball hit on his head in a club match in Dhaka. Lamba was fielding at short-leg without wearing a helmet, and the ball struck by batsman Mehrab Hossain hit him hard on his head and rebounded to wicket-keeper Khaled Mashud.

A cricket umpire died in 2009 in South Wales after being hit on the head by a ball thrown by a fielder.

Numerous injuries are reported to health institutions, worldwide, in relation to cricket ball injuries including ocular (with some players having even lost eyes), cranial (head), dental (teeth), digital (fingers and toes) and testicular.