Behind the Seams: The Making of a Newbery Cricket Ball
Guernsey Cricket recently welcomed David White, CEO of Newbery Cricket, to the island during the ICC U19 Men's Cricket World Cup Europe Qualifier. Following his visit, we asked David to explain exactly what goes into producing one of the most important pieces of equipment in our game: the cricket ball.
Newbery cricket balls have come a long way in ten years. The Sussex-based cricket brand now supplies balls to 19 ICC nations, all 18 First-Class Counties and competitions across the UK, Europe and the USA, while its Elite balls are trusted within the ECB professional game. With Czechia becoming the latest nation to join that list, and further international growth expected before the end of the year, it seems a good time to go behind the seams and see what actually goes into making a Newbery cricket ball.
It all starts in the middle. At the heart of the Newbery Elite ball is a single-piece moulded centre made from top-grade Portuguese cork and rubber. The mixture has been developed and refined for more than ten years to achieve the balance of bounce, feel and resilience required for high-level cricket. The company’s machine-stitched Elite white and pink balls take things one step further. Surrounding the centre is an injection-moulded silicone plastic cup, using material technology sourced from the automotive industry. Designed to withstand repeated impact, the innovation has played an important role in helping Newbery’s limited-overs balls retain their shape and performance across a full 50-over innings.
The outside is equally important. The red Elite uses super-grade alum-tanned leather selected from the stronger hind portion of the hide. It is hand-stitched and wax dipped before receiving a premium lacquer finish. White and pink balls undergo a different pigmentation process to create the bright, consistent colour required for limited-overs cricket, before being sealed with a protective pigmented lacquer.
Then comes the craftsmanship. At Newbery’s purpose-built cricket-ball factory in India, balls move through leather preparation, stitching, rounding, printing, glossing and inspection. Forecast orders are produced well in advance wherever possible, maximising drying time and allowing the leather to mature before the following season. Many consignments then travel to the UK by sea, providing further time for the finished balls to settle. The factory has capacity to produce 100,000 balls a year, including up to 10,000 top-grade balls in a single month. That gives Newbery the ability to scale production quickly and offer express manufacturing when customers require it.
Development is continuing too. Several professional counties are currently sampling Newbery’s new English leather first class grade red ball, a product the company hopes can provide a high-quality, value-for-money alternative for UK Premier League cricket, first-class training, academies and Second XI programmes.
DID YOU KNOW?
Newbery's purpose-built factory has capacity to produce 100,000 cricket balls a year, including as many as 10,000 top-grade balls in a single month.
