There is probably a good reason why cricket and baseballs are similar in density, hardness and size.
They both travel at roughly the same speed, are hit in much the same way and need to fit the bowlers hands in order to project it in required way.
Cricket balls need to be able to last longer than baseballs though.
In a test match they need to last for over 400 deliveries before being changed. They are able to do that because they are being hit more often than baseballs, but mostly more softly and by a flat blade. This means that the gradual changing condition of the ball is absolutely crucial to the strategy of cricket.
Baseballs are changed fairly often aren’t they? Not surprising given the more forcefull point impact of bat on ball.
In softball the speeds and distances and forces are lower so one of the best ways to accomplish that is by making the ball bigger and softer.
But was this chicken or egg? Did the requirements of the game dictate a certain ball? or did the ball chosen drive the mechanics of the game?
At the major league level a fresh baseball is kept in play at all times, but until 1920 the ball was kept in play as long as possible, and the changing condition of the ball was part of the strategy. The practice was changed after Ray Chapman was killed from being hit in the head by a pitched ball. The incident happened late in the game when the ball had become dirty. It was dusk, and people thought that Chapman probably didn’t see the pitch until it was too late. Shortly after that, the umpires were instructed to replace any dirty or worn ball. The rules were also changed to prohibit foreign substances from being applied to the ball.
This change had a lot to do with the end of the dead ball era. Up until 1920 home runs were relatively rare. After 1920 they were more common. A fresh ball can be hit farther than an old ball that’s been beaten up.
One thing that hasn’t been mentioned yet is that the wicket-keeper is allowed to wear gloves. If you look at pictures of those gloves, they look like early baseball gloves. So I ask the cricketers here: Why does the wicket-keeper, who presumably does most of the catching, wear gloves in cricket?
Not really sure too much about the history, but my understanding is that the term “soft” actually related to how the ball is pitched rather than the attributes of the ball itself.
In terms of the surface hardness a softball and a baseball are not noticeably different at all. A softball is every bit as “hard” as a baseball, and some types (softballs are much more varied in their construction) are likely a bit harder.
The game is called softball because the balls were originally softer; softball is descended from forms of baseball that were meant to be played indoors. Originally softballs were not only soft, but they were HUGE, much bigger than today’s softballs. Over time, though, the balls become just as rigid as baseballs and shrank to their current size.
Because he does most of the catching and the hundreds of catches he takes would produce a great deal of wear and tear and injury risk. I guess he is an equivalent to your backstop and the people on the bases. Their use of the gloves is of he same nature (though I don’t know how many catches they have to take over the course of a game)
Of course cricket fielders are not allowed to wear gloves but I wonder whether they would if they could.
I would suspect in cricket that it is much faster to field and throw in one movement and with the same hand. As has been mentioned above the risk/reward equation means that the slight increased chance of a misfield is insignificant compared with the slight increased chance of a run out.
In a days Test cricket there are a minimum of 90 overs of six legal deliveries. The wicket keeper would take the ball say 75% of these, either as the batsman not hitting the ball, from fieldsmen returning the ball after being hit and least often catching the batsmen out. Say roughly 400 times per day.
In an average baseball game there are about 150 pitches per team, the % the catcher takes, I dunno, but I guess fewer pitches are hit in baseball but it’s less usual for the ball to be returned to the catcher after a hit, either fair or foul.
So with a broad generalist brush, a cricket wicket keeper would field 3-4 times as many thrown/bowled deliveries in a day as a catcher would take in a game. I guess catchers may play double headers, but keepers may be in the field for more than a day. In two of the four innings in the 1st Test of the last Ashes series Matt Prior (Eng) kept for 158 overs and Brad Haddin (Aus) kept for 151 overs in the next.
Secondly there is no strike zone, so wicket keepers are expected to take a lot more what would be termed “wild pitches”. True, they are a lot further from the bat, but a competent keeper would expect to take all within a zone about a body length to the left or right of their stance, and to full stretch above them. With the variation in the wicket over time, some deliveries don’t carry and bounce a second time. These sort of things are what hurt hands and break fingers.
So that’s roughly 40 new balls per game? Yikes, and so most batters would face a new ball every at-bat?
Any ball that hits the non-grass parts of the field with any speed at all is replaced. You’ll often see balls replaced after every single pitch if the pitcher is having control problems and throwing very low. A ball with any sort of wear or tear on it is considered to be a benefit for pitchers. It allows the ball to move much more over the 60 feet or so that it travels from the pitcher’s hand to the catcher’s mitt. In fact, pitchers often cheat by using different ways to scratch or tarnish the ball.
Shocking, still, that’s the colonial mentality for you. I can hereby state confidently that the gentlemen who play the noble game of cricket would never seek to artificially affect the condition of the ball in order to gain an advantage.
When you have to barehand a baseball because of a bad bounce, you will. But you often get a serious bone bruise that hurts for a long time. You don’t like catching a ball barehanded because it hurts.
