Thursday, April 14, 2005

Why cricket balls go out of shape

It's not that they're made badly, as commentators insist. It's because the leather comes from cattle that were not treated well while they were alive.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Apropos which, here's my wife's observation, which brings to the fore the value of a fresh pair of eyes.

The cricket ball (and cricketers) at the end of a game are toxically polluted.

First of all, it has got the amalgam of the sweat and spittle of eleven sweaty men on it. Next, this moist ball gathers dirt as it travels along the ground. This happens over and over again for upto 80 overs before the new ball supplants it.

Far from handling it with surgical gloves and a face mask, the bowler with 5 wickets shows it off to the crowd and even mounts it on a pedestal at home!

The Addled said...

Saliva isn't dirty. In fact it contains an enzyme, lysozyme, that is known to kill bacteria.

Neither is sweat dirty. It is merely salty.

Sorry to say, but you're wife is slightly mistaken.

Also, being a cricketer, I would definitely mount a ball on a pedestal even if I knew a bunch of bacteria was growing on it (which it isn't).