Red, White and Pink Cricket Balls Explained

Edited by Nayan Makvana · Last reviewed 24 October 2026

The ball affects a cricket match more than any other piece of equipment. Its colour is chosen for visibility, its make differs from country to country, and its condition changes over the course of an innings. This guide explains those differences and the rules on when and how a ball may be changed, using the 2026 edition of the Laws and the ICC playing conditions current at the date of review.

Size and weight

The Laws define three sizes. A Size 1 ball, the one used in men's cricket, weighs 156 to 163 grams (5.5 to 5.75 ounces) when new and measures 22.4 to 22.9 centimetres round. A Size 2 ball, used in women's international cricket, weighs 142 to 149 grams and measures 21.5 to 22 centimetres. A Size 3 ball, for junior cricket, weighs 133 to 140 grams and measures 20.5 to 21 centimetres. Each competition's governing body decides which size it uses. The size labels replaced the old men's, women's and junior descriptions in the 2026 edition.

Why three colours

Red: The traditional ball, used in Tests and most first-class cricket. It stands out against white clothing and a white sightscreen in daylight, but is hard to pick out under floodlights once the sky darkens.
White: Used in ODIs and T20Is. White balls arrived with floodlit one-day cricket in Australia in the late 1970s, when Kookaburra made them for World Series Cricket. A white ball shows up well under lights and against the coloured clothing worn in limited-overs cricket, but it would not stand out against white Test clothing, and it does not hold its condition as long as a Test ball needs to.
Pink: Developed for day-night Tests, where players still wear white and a ball has to last 80 overs before a new one is due. The first day-night Test, at Adelaide in November 2015, used a pink Kookaburra ball. Since October 2026 the ICC has also allowed two teams to agree, before a Test starts, to use a pink ball in daytime, a trial intended to reduce play lost to bad light. The choice cannot be changed once the match is under way.

Kookaburra, Dukes and SG

Three manufacturers make the balls used in Test cricket. The home board supplies balls of an approved standard and must tell the visiting board which brand it will use at least 30 days before the series, so touring sides regularly face a different ball from the one they use at home. The usual pattern is:

Kookaburra (Australia): Used for Tests in most Test-playing countries, including Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, and the white ball generally used in ODIs and T20Is. Its seam is lower and flatter than the other two, and it is generally regarded as swinging mainly while it is new.
Dukes (England): Used for Tests in England and the West Indies. Hand-stitched with a pronounced seam that stays raised for longer, and generally regarded as swinging for longer than a Kookaburra.
SG (India): Used for Tests in India. Hand-stitched with a thicker seam that holds its shape on dry, abrasive pitches, which helps spinners grip the ball.

All three makers also produce pink balls for day-night Tests. In internationals the fielding captain chooses each new match ball from a box of new ones, with the fourth umpire supervising.

How a ball ages

Shine. Fielders polish one side on their clothing so it stays smooth while the other side roughens through use. With the seam held upright, the difference between the two sides makes the ball swing in the air. This conventional swing is strongest while the ball is new.
Seam. A proud seam grips the pitch and makes the ball deviate off the surface. As the stitching flattens and the ball softens, seam movement declines and the ball comes off the bat more slowly.
Reverse swing. Once one side is very rough and the other has been kept smooth and dry, a ball bowled fast can swing towards the shiny side, the opposite of conventional swing, and often late. It needs an old, dry ball, so it tends to appear later in an innings, and abrasive pitches and dry outfields speed up the wear that produces it.

The bowling guide explains how bowlers use each of these, and the pitch and conditions guide covers how the surface and the weather change what the ball does.

The saliva ban

Bowlers traditionally used saliva as well as sweat to polish the ball. Saliva was banned as an interim measure when international cricket resumed during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, and the ICC made the ban permanent from 1 October 2022, the date the matching change to the Laws took effect. Under the Laws a fielder may polish the ball on their clothing provided no artificial substance is used and the only natural substance used is sweat.

In internationals, if the umpires believe saliva has been applied, the batting side is awarded five penalty runs and the ball is replaced, unless the umpires believe the fielding side applied it deliberately to get the ball changed, in which case it is not replaced. Competitions outside international cricket can set their own playing conditions on this.

When the ball is changed

New ball. A new ball is used at the start of each innings. In Tests and other matches of more than one day, the fielding captain may take another new ball once 80 overs have been bowled with the old one.
Lost or unfit ball. If the ball is lost, or the umpires agree it has become unfit through normal use, they replace it with one that has had comparable wear, not with a new one. In Tests, a ball that has to be replaced after 110 overs is replaced with a new ball.
Unfair change of condition. If the umpires decide a player has changed the condition of the ball, for example with an artificial substance, the opposing side is awarded five penalty runs and may have the ball replaced. In internationals, when the fielding side is responsible, the batter chooses the replacement from a selection of balls of different ages, including a new one.
Inspections. Umpires inspect the ball frequently and at irregular intervals, and take charge of it at every fall of a wicket and every interval.

The ODI new-ball rule

One-day internationals have changed their ball rules more than once:

Before October 2011, each innings began with a single new ball.
From 1 October 2011, each innings used two new balls, one from each end, so neither ball was more than 25 overs old by the end of a full innings.
Since July 2025 in men's ODIs, two new balls are used, one from each end, for overs 1 to 34. At the end of the 34th over the fielding side chooses one of the two to use at both ends for the rest of the innings, and the other joins the stock of replacement balls. If a match is cut to 25 overs a side or fewer before it starts, each side uses a single new ball.

The ICC said the 2025 change was meant to readdress the balance between bat and ball, and its cricket committee wanted an older ball in the last 16 overs to bring reverse swing back into play. Women's ODIs still use two new balls, one from each end, for the whole innings, and every T20I innings starts with one new ball. For how the formats differ in other ways, see Test, ODI and T20 formats explained.