THE MODERN MANUFACTURE OF CRICKET BALLS
by Rodney Brown
Rodney Brown is the Factory Manager of Platypus Sporting Goods (Dave Brown) Pty Ltd where PLATYPUS cricket balls are manufactured in Australia. The following is a brief description of the process.
The final or CLOSING row of stitching of all PLATYPUS cricket balls is HAND STITCHED. This is the traditional and most secure way of closing the ball. Experienced Hand Stitchers have the ability to vary their technique to corresponding variations in the natural steer hide.
The balls are sewn using a single waxed thread in a bonded lock stitch pattern and the thread used is a 6 cord Polyester with an extremely high breaking strain and wear resistance.
For cricket balls to be machine stitched (like Kookaburra) they need to have a line cut into the surface of the leather for the automatic stitching machine to follow; this action in itself weakens the leather and corresponding seam strength.
After being hand sewn all Platypus balls are then individually quality checked before being completed. The finishing process consists of two coats of a highly scuff resistant nitro-cellulose lacquer and then embossing before packing in moisture proof paper bags. Most cricket balls produced in England are usually dipped into a resinous oil mixture to prevent damage to the leather by rain water but this also tends to soften the surface of the ball which will easily scuff if the ball is used on hard turf or astro pitches such as those found in Australia or Africa. Many ‘English’ balls are actually sewn in the Sub-Continent as a cost saving measure.
All Platypus cricket balls are produced from leather sourced from a long established Melbourne based tannery which is the same tannery also used by Kookaburra. Production is derived from prime Australian steer hides and only the superior Butt portion of the hide is used to produce first grade cricket ball leather. The Butt portion is subjected to a traditional Alum tanning process which promotes resistant grain enamel whilst tightening the fibrous structure of the leather. Colour variations, scratch marks and other leather imperfections are characteristic of natural hides. Platypus do not try to hide them with paint or coloured lacquer.
Four Piece Balls
1 Four hide pieces are cut from the one Butt hide to match in both colour and weight.
2 These are then machined with 1.2mm braided polyester thread forming an invisible seam (flat seam).
3 These flat seams are then turned rightside out.
4 They are then pressed in warm moulds with the counter weights in place to form them into ball shape. They are allowed to season before being trimmed for size and then having the two "false" rows of stitches added. These are machined using a 5/18 pure linen thread with 65-70 stitches (+/- 5%) to finish with a width, outside row to outside seam row, of 20mm (+/- 5%) as required by the Victorian Cricket Association.
The covers are then matched to a core of correct size and weight, pressed together in a vice and hand stitched to close the ball.
Cores
All Platypus top grade four piece balls are manufactured using the traditional "quilted" or "layered" core. Both the 3 layer and 5 layer balls use a moulded compound Portuguese cork (believe it or not but Portugal supplies all the cork used in cricket balls) and rubber centre of regulation size. These are then layered with yarn and more cork. The yarn used is a 27 micron 100% Pure New Wool spun and twisted into a 2/10 NM count. The wool is from NSW, scoured and processed at Wagga Wagga, and turned into yarn at Macquarie Textiles’ Albury Plant.
The wool is wound WET under tension to compress each of the cork "layers" to produce a core with the required bounce and shape retention qualities.
It is very critical that the core has the correct firmness and bounce, without being too hard to as to damage expensive bats as is the case with most balls from the Sub-Continent.
Two Piece Balls
All Platypus top grade two piece balls are manufactured using a moulded compound Portuguese cork and rubber centre. These are then wound with yarn. The yarn is a 27 micron 100% Pure New Wool spun and twisted into a 2/10 NM count. The wool is also from Macquarie Textiles’ Albury Plant.
The wool is wound WET under tension to compress the centre to produce a core with the required bounce and shape retention qualities.
All Platypus 2 piece and 4 piece balls are hand sewn on the closing row of the seam.