The ball for the India-England test series – Pronounced stitching, darker red, harder core

“The pronounced stitching helps both the speed caster and the spinner in two ways. First of all, the taller seam gives the player a better grip with the fingers. And especially for the spinner, the better grip gives you the ability to impart more spin to the ball. For both the fast and the spinner, when the ball with the pronounced seam hits the pitch, it will deflect more because the higher the seam, the more friction the ball will create on the surface. If you think about the ball hitting the pitch without creating friction, there will be no deflection. Like bowling on the glass where there is no friction and the ball just slides straight.“- Michael Holding

A uthi hui stitching (pronounced), a darker shade of red, and a harder core to prevent the ball from going soft early on innings in Indian outfields. The official match ball used for the Test series against England will be slightly different in nature.

It will provide “extra bounce” and retain its toughness up to 60th, according to official ball suppliers Sanspareils Greenlands (SG).

The ball has been criticized in the past during test matches in India, including by captain Virat Kolhi and Ravichandran Ashwin. Creeping early and losing toughness in the first 10 overs were some of the issues raised by the players.

“An important change is sewing. Now it is more pronounced. The spinners especially wanted a seam that they could grip and thus get more revolutions on the ball, ”said Paras Anand, SG director of marketing.

Following feedback from Indian players, including bowlers, manufacturers have improved the consistency of the handmade ball to bring it closer to the finish of a machine-made product.

The hustle never stops ??#TeamIndia preparing the game before the first #INDvENG Try Chepauk ? pic.twitter.com/tAGyMC0uZK

– BCCI (@BCCI) February 3, 2021

Give me (darker) red

Indian cricketers also had a color preference, a darker red.

SG changed the tint and “returned” to the color players were used to when most of them first played national cricket.

“They (the Indian cricketers) were happiest with the darker shade of red. For a period of time, you don’t notice and you don’t see the change. So what they felt was that the color used to be a darker shade of red. We have returned to that dark tone. That request came from the Indian team. I feel like it’s more psychological. But they believed that if you use a darker color, you get a good result. Not just one bowler, a group of bowlers have said that and they felt that the darker the leather, the more useful it is for bowlers. Someone gives feedback and you listen. Nobody was in favor of a lighter color, ”says Anand.

Former Indian pacemaker RP Singh said there is no science for bowlers opting for a darker shade, although there is a pattern. “There is a general feeling among fast bowlers that the ball darkens the more it swings. There is no science in that, ”he said. A prominent seam helps to grip the ball better. “With a less prominent seam, it’s harder to swing the ball and you have to hit it harder, which means you have to push yourself a lot more.”

SG has been the official premier cricket supplier in India since 1993 and feedback from cricketers has led them to take a closer look at their manufacturing process.

Ravichandran Ashwin in action during India vs. Australia test series last month. (AP)

Ashwin talked about the change in the nature of the SG ball in the past.

“When I started playing test cricket, the SG used to be top-notch, and you could throw with it even after 70 or 80. The seam used to be firm and straight. But it’s not the same anymore, ”Ashwin had told the official broadcaster during the home series against the West Indies in 2018.

In addition to the seam being more pronounced, Meerut’s makers have also tried to address players’ concerns about the ball going soft early in a tackle. The added toughness in the core, which is made from cork, and the strict quality controls of the leather used in each batch have made the latest version durable, the company says.

“The hardness will stay longer, say 50 to 60 overs. There will be something for the bowlers. The extra bounce will also help bowlers, ”says Anand.

During the home series against the West Indies, Kohli had called for the Dukes’ ball to be used for test cricket around the world, including India. “Having the ball scraped in five overs is not something we’ve seen before. The quality of the ball used to be quite high before and I don’t understand why it fell, “Kohli had said during that series.

He had expressed concern that the “softball” was reducing the impact of bowlers by 20% in the unforgiving conditions of India.

“Kaizen,” the Japanese business philosophy of constant improvement, is at the heart of the ball’s development process, says Anand.

After talking to gamers in 2019, SG has been fine-tuning the manufacturing process for 18 months and the latest version will be almost 100% consistent in all respects and is one that “players will like,” adds Anand.

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Evolution after 2018

Former India pacemaker Irfan Pathan noticed the evolution of the SG ball when India played South Africa at home in 2019.

“I felt the stitching was a little more prominent and the ball was much harder when I was commenting for the India vs South Africa series. I remember in the Pune game, the way fast players bowled, it looked like they weren’t playing with an SG ball, but with a Kookaburra ball. The ball has become of better quality and lasts longer. I think because the stitching is much more vertical, you will see that the fast players will also get a lot of help, ”said Pathan.

Anand talks about strict quality control during the ball manufacturing process.

“Before each batch is approved for production, the core hardness and strength of the thread used for sewing is within specification. We have tried to ensure that the variation is as minimal as possible. It’s about training the people who sew it (sewing). They are very skilled, but they just had to give a little more. We have guaranteed rigorous quality controls for a batch (500-1000 balls each), be it the leather, the dye, the core. Everything is checked in batches. There is so much consistency that it feels like it’s made by a machine.