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Cricket balls are manufactured to conform to the specification laid down in Law 5 of the Laws of Cricket.

However, there are several different manufacturers of cricket ball, and normally the host country's cricket board will choose which manufacturers' cricket balls they will use.

For instance, Australia typically use a Kookaburra cricket ball (as do many other countries - Kookaburra claim "85% of Test Matches and One Day Internationals" use their Turf ball.)

At least anecdotally, each manufacturer's products are supposed to vary, so the home team, with its familiarity with the cricket balls of its chosen manufacturer, may have an advantage.

Which manufacturers' cricket balls are currently used at Test level, and by which teams? What are their key differences in behaviour? (Note that I am not specifically enquiring about differences between red and white cricket balls.)

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+1 for a good question. –  iDev Jun 27 '13 at 18:09
The white Kookaburra balls are used in One Day Internationals and T20Is, while the red one is used in Tests in most nations apart from West Indies and England (Duke) and India (SG). - From wikipedia –  NetStarter Jun 28 '13 at 7:47

2 Answers 2

Which manufacturers cricket balls are currently used at Test level, and by which teams?

India - SG

England - Dukes

New Zealand,South Africa,Bangladesh,Zimbabwe,Sri Lanka,Pakistan,Australia - Kookaburra

 What is the difference -

Well this is what i have found ,

Kookaburra has a very low seam which generally holds true for 20 overs and then dies after that.

The seam in the SG ball is upright and very prominent. It stays the same till the 80th over or more. The ball tends to lose shine because of the nature of the outfields in Indian conditions, but the seam stays intact. Because of the seam, the ball tends to grip the pitch and assist in spin and lateral movement.

Whereas in Duke balls the seam remains pronounced even till 50-55 overs if proper care is taken.

SG balls swing for a max of 5 overs whereas the Dukes balls swing for about 20 overs, making the Dukes most favourable for bowlers. And kookaburra swings far better than the SG.

From Internet

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As Orangecrush has said elsewhere:

Red Kookaburra ball is used in Tests in most nations apart from West Indies & England (Duke) and India (SG). All One Day International matches, regardless of location, are played with Kookaburra balls.

This gives the answer to the first two parts of your question.

And the manufacturing of the balls differ only in stitching process. Also, dukes tend to swing around a bit more than kookaburras. The sub-continent cricket balls are slightly smaller, darker, harder, with a slightly more prominent seam & allows ball to last longer.

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Thank you for the information. I'm interested in the differences between the Duke, SG, and Kookaburra balls you mention, not in the difference between red and white cricket balls (I am aware of the question regarding the differences between those). I have clarified my question to make this clearer. –  Spinner Jun 27 '13 at 14:33

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