Today, as we stand in the spring sunshine on the eve of an exciting new season, we bring you an exciting special post.
The KRCSC’s Ball Secretary (2022-Present), Ali Tyzack, writes in to dispel some common myths around his role and to raise awareness of the importance of the humble red ball to a season’s success.
As we eagerly await the start of a new action-packed King’s Road Cricket season, I would like to take a moment to talk about the unsung hero of our game, the humble cricket ball. Or as it’s more commonly referred to post pandemic, the ‘vector of disease’.
As a swing bowler, although admittedly not in the same league as swing kings Jimmy Anderson and Matt Cocken, having a quality hard ball of leather in hand is just as important to me as a nice chunk of willow would be for a batsman. Being handed a PVA glue lacquered abomination from AJ Sports at the start of the innings is the equivalent of asking Sherman to open with a painted Slazenger V200 Kashmir bat from the family cricket set (though this would be great to watch).
Not happy with the RAMs and AJ Sports of years gone by, at last season’s AGM I took it upon myself to stand up on behalf of the bowler’s union and source the club’s balls myself. It was at this moment ‘Ball-Sec’ was born – not the hero King’s Road deserved, but the hero it needed. A disgruntled Keats did his best to hide his inner ‘Cocaine Bear’, now that his princely RAM Cricket commission was no more.
Armed with only a modest budget from Sham’s coffers, I began the hunt for the ball of my dreams. At first our options seemed limited – I had previously tested sub £15 picks from the likes of Dukes, Newbury and Readers, with most being lacquered and disappointing – how is one expected to swing the ball if it doesn’t even stain your whites when shined? However, just like with any other commodity, there are dealers out there who can supply you with the good stuff. You just need to know where to look.
My search had led me to the shady back alley of eBay listings – as I was trawling through the pages and on the brink of giving up, it was then that I cast eyes upon what seemed like a mirage. A box of dark red balls, dazzling like rubies – “Myyy Prrreeeciousss” I found myself muttering uncontrollably. I then skimmed through the description, which was alike to reading extracts from an erotic novel – ‘Grade A’, ‘waxed’, ‘swung’, ‘kept shape’ and ‘used by many of the country’s leading coaches’ all invoked pleasurable sensations. All of this for just £10 a ball (£11 this year – thanks Russia) when the RRP was £30! What’s the catch I hear you ask? Well, they are described as ‘slight seconds’ with cosmetic imperfections such as being double stamped or too dark a shade of red. However, as we all know at KRCSC we don’t like to discriminate, so they seemed like a perfect match.
After some pleasant back and forth with my new dealer, an invoice was quickly whipped up and sent over to Sham for his crack team of auditors to scrutinise. Once given the green light the order was confirmed, and I was soon in possession of some of the finest balls South London had ever seen. Upon making the exchange at nets with captain PEJ, a magpie like Oscar appeared out of nowhere proclaiming his desire for some shiny pink equivalents for T20. These were then sourced and delivered with haste.
The 2022 season saw an unprecedented long period of scorching weather, with multiple heat waves across the duration of summer. Although this inevitably led to less-than-ideal conditions for swing, the new balls kept in great shape despite the 40 over battering they repeatedly received on hard dry pitches. I have no doubt the balls will swing more this year if the weather permits, as frequenters of winter nets can surely attest to!
So, as we gear up for another season of cricket, let’s not forget to show some love to the humble cricket ball. After all, how would you like to be hit, thrown around and spat on all day? Next time it comes to you in the field treat it with care and give it a shine. Without it we’d just be a bunch of strange folks standing in a field swinging bits of wood at nothing.
