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Not all cricket balls are created equal and that could have implications for international matches, a study has found.
University of Adelaide sports engineer Franz Fuss said on Wednesday the pick of the crop was the Australian made Kookaburra.
Dr Fuss studied five balls manufactured in Australia, India and Pakistan checking on their methods of construction and stiffness and how they performed under compression.
The Kookaburra ball was found to be the most consistent in its overall performance.
The other four models showed inconsistent stiffness which could play an important part in how a ball reacted when struck by the bat.
“In contrast to other sport balls, most cricket balls are still hand-made, which may affect the consistency of manufacturing and thus the properties of a ball,” Dr Fuss said.
“Of the five we looked at, the Kookaburra was the only one manufactured consistently.
“In some cases, balls tested from the same model behaved like completely different balls.”
Dr Fuss said his findings could have implications for major matches with softer balls more forgiving, providing longer contact with the bat and allowing the batsman to place the ball more precisely.
“If the batsman doesn’t hit the ball perfectly, a softer ball can still go in the direction aimed at by maintaining its velocity, a hard ball might slide off the bat,” he said.
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