The History of Cricket Ball Design and Manufacturing

by Richard Janvrin, May 26, 2025

When you’re on the top cricket betting apps and contemplating your next wager, did you know that this game and the first cricket ball has been around as early as the 1500s?

Since then, the history of cricket balls has progressed from leather spheres stuffed with anything to leather balls filled with cork.

While the manufacturing components have changed, the ball’s overall design has remained unchanged.

Below, I’ll look back at how these balls are made, including the weight of a cricket ball, what a cricket ball is made of, how it’s made, its appearance, and more.

• What a Cricket Ball is Made Of
• The Process of Cricket Ball Manufacturing
• Ball Weight, Size, Color, and Appearance
• Top Global Manufacturers

What a Cricket Ball is Made Of

Today, the modern cricket ball follows extremely strict specifications when being crafted; however, as you’ll find, over the history of cricket ball manufacturing, a lot of the same stuff is used.

First, the core is a solid cork plug that also uses some rubber.

Around that core are long layers of string that are wound extremely tight to increase the weight of a cricket ball, along with the size. To enclose the core, the ball has cowhide leather. It’s cut into four panels, with two on each side.

Next, when the leather is wrapped around the core, the ball is then sewn together. The more skill crafters will stitch multiple rows of thick white or tan along the seam. In doing that, the ball gets that signature raised seam.

Other balls are done with hand stitching, producing even more prominent stitching.

Once the ball is assembled completely, it’s rolled around and treated with a unique grease/polish. This helps it avoid moisture and gives it that shiny finish.

The Process of Cricket Ball Manufacturing

Here’s the complete process of how a cricket ball is made from start to finish. It’s changed quite a bit since the first cricket ball, but there are still a lot of similarities.

• The Core: The cork core is shaped and prepared. The workers will wrap it tightly with numerous layers of yarn. As mentioned above, this helps the weight and firm center.
• Leather Cover: Four leather panels are cut into shape and oiled. These leather covers go over the ball in a crosswise pattern.
• Stitching the Seam: Using strong thread, the leather edges are sewn together. There are six rows of stitching form the main seam around the ball. With professional cricket balls, this is done by machine, or in some cases, by hand.
• Finishing: Finally, the ball is pressed and rolled on a flat surface and polished with a compound. They then seal the leather, which helps produce a deep color and shine. The red Duke’s balls are polished heavily to become dark and glossy.

Of course, as these steps advance, the ball is checked to ensure it meets the official weight of a cricket ball and other specifications. As for cheaper balls used in practice, there may only be two leather halves as opposed to four.

Ball Weight, Size, Color, and Appearance

Cricket balls are pretty heavy overall. The legal weight of a cricket ball in a men’s match is between 156 and 163 grams. This is roughly 5.5 ounces. The circumference is somewhere between 22.4 and 22.9 centimeters.

Balls used in women’s matches are between 140 and 151 grams and 21 to 22.6 centimeters.

That said, there are various international formats that have some different specifications.

For example, in One-Day internationals, two new balls are used per inning, whereas a T20 uses only one new ball per inning.

As for the appearance, a new ball is hard with polished leather and a visible stitched seam. There are six rows. Throughout a game, fielders will often polish one side to keep it shiny and make the other side rougher. This contrast can cause a swing in the air, meaning the path of the ball can be a bit unpredictable.

So what does a cricket ball look like? Well, the Test ball is roughly the size of a smaller apple and has worn red leather. When you see a red ball, this is typically for Test matches.

Conversely, in limited-overs games, white balls are used and in day-night Test outings, pink balls have started to be used. The biggest difference between a white and red ball is the leather is dyed white and finished with more lacquer. These are used in ODIs and T20s under floodlights because white is more visible at night.

The problem with white balls are the scuff marks are far more visible so teams will use more of them to keep them more visible.

Pink balls are basically red balls that have been dyed pink and lacquered for more durability. These balls also bounce and act similarly to red balls.

Top Global Manufacturers

Now that we’ve answered the question of “What is a cricket ball made of?” and the manufacturing process, who actually makes them for cricket matches around the world?

There are three main providers: Dukes, Kookaburra, and SG.

• Dukes (England): British Cricket Balls Ltd. was founded in 1760. While they didn’t make the first cricket ball, they began quite some time ago. It makes the Duke’s balls, which are used in Test by England and other countries like Ireland. These balls use a thick, long-grain leather. They always use four pieces and are hand-stitched in England. The seam is extremely visible.
• Kookaburra (Australia): These balls are used globally. These balls use Australian leather and are stitched by machine. These balls are found in Tests in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and more. It has a flatter seam, and the balls swing more than Dukes ‘ balls, but they lose that before Dukes’ balls.
• SG (India): SG, short for Sanspareils Greenlands, makes balls used in Indian Tests. These red balls are similar to Dukes in that there are four pieces, and they’re hand-stitched. However, the leather used is a bit thinner. There’s still a prominent seam, and they have a solid bounce.

It’s worth noting that these companies also produce white and pink versions of their balls. Regardless of who crafts it, it needs to meet those specifications. In the end, though, they all used the same components used throughout the 250-year history of cricket ball crafting.