How Much Difference Is There Between Cricket Ball VS Baseball And does it affect a Live Match If Balls Are Swapped?
We’ve heard it all before: Sports fans swearing that cricket and baseball are similar, claiming that the only differences are the names and the parts of the world the sports are played. Some even go as far as interchanging the games!
Though it’s easy to believe they’re right, it helps to consider facts before settling for fiction. True, cricket and baseball are games where one player throws a ball and the other hits it, but they’re as different as day and night.
If you’re among the people who think the sports are similar, by the end of this article, hopefully, you’ll see what sets the two enjoyable games apart.
Ready? Let’s jump right into the cricket ball vs baseball dissection then!
1. Difference in Numbers
In cricket, there are two teams, each with eleven players. Baseball, on the other hand, has nine players on each team.
It can also have 10, depending on team decisions and league rules. In some leagues, a battling specialist may be designated as a hitter solely for the pitcher.
The variation in numbers is largely due to the size of the field and specific allowances of both games.
From a distance, the cricket and baseball balls look similar. Upon further inspection, however, you’ll realize that the cricket ball is heavier. It weighs between 5.5 and 5.75 ounces (or 155.9 and 163 grams), while the baseball ball weighs 5.25 ounces (or 142 and 149 grams).
And that’s not all. Cricket balls are harder and have a red (for test plays) or flat white hue (for a one-day international game). The balls are made of string and cork and covered with red leather.
Baseball balls are white and have red stitches. They are also sometimes layered. Both balls are made from a combination of cork and rubber, with either material featuring different degrees depending on the brand.
As for the bats used, in cricket, the bat is wooden (made of willow wood) and flat on one side and ridged on the other. This means that a batsman can only use a single side of their bat to strike an incoming ball.
In baseball, it’s a club-like shaft that’s made of metal or wood. It’s rounded and thin, meaning that though you may find it hard to strike with a baseball bat, you can use any side to strike the ball.
Regarding bat size, baseball bats come in an impressive array of sizes, with the maximum length being 42 inches. This makes it convenient for use because it can be swung in the horizontal plane. The maximum length of a cricket bat is 38 inches and can be swung in the vertical as well as a horizontal plane.
The baseball bat has a higher striking force. It comes with a trampoline effect, which allows the bat to bounce off the ball upon impact and enable the player to strike it farther. A cricket bat doesn’t offer that kind of power.
Though generally, a cricket bat is more durable than a baseball bat due to the willow wood’s strength, a baseball bat can also serve for more years if it’s made of alloy or aluminum.
In cricket, once the game commences, the coach has no more power over their players.
Captains take charge and direct their teammates as necessary. The coach becomes a spectator.
In baseball, coaches and managers will most times direct the players to field at a specific depth or carry out a play.
Cricket has its roots in England and is common in former British colonies such as Sri Lanka, South Africa, India, Australia, New Zealand, Kenya, and Pakistan.
As for baseball, it’s largely played in the USA though various other countries have also embraced the game. These countries include Italy, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Holland, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and Panama.
On the professional, youth, and amateur levels, baseball is popular in parts of Asia and Southeast Asia, North America, parts of South America, Central America, and parts of the Caribbean.
5. Strategies
Cricket puts more emphasis on the condition of the playing pitch since balls are normally deliberately bounced on the pitch. Baseball is more flexible on pitch conditions and doesn’t allow ball bouncing.
When it comes to weather, baseball is a more resilient game as major league baseball games go on even in light to medium rains. In a very heavy downpour, the sport stops unless it’s played in covered stadiums.
Cricket is weather-conscious and stops even in light rains due to visibility issues. What brings the two games together is that both games are canceled or delayed depending on the ground conditions.
Batting out of turn is highly flexible in cricket though it isn’t allowed in baseball. In baseball, however, only the positions of the catcher and pitcher are prescribed by the laws, but other fielders’ positions are dictated closely by custom, and shifts in fielders’ positions as per circumstances involve less drama.
In the game of cricket, particular laws govern the placement of fielders in different overs, while in baseball, restrictions on the placement of fielders is limited to precluding interference or deception.
6. Protective Gear
In cricket, batsmen are allowed to wear a helmet, pads, and other padding for different parts of the body. Fielders aren’t permitted to wear any protective gear except if they stand very near to the batsman. Some of the gear that fielders can wear then includes Short Leg and Silly Point.
As for baseball, gloves are worn in the non-throwing hand, and padding and hard plastic headgear may be used. Batters may use shin guards and use a hard plastic helmet. Catchers, on the other hand, use wire masks molded into a hard plastic shell, plastic shin guards, and padded chest protectors.
7. Fields
In cricket, the field is 20.1 meters (roughly 58ft or 17.7 m between batsman and bowler at delivery) or 22 yards (66 feet).
In baseball, it’s 60 feet, 6 inches, or 18.4 m (at least 52 ft or 15.8 m between pitcher’s starting point and batter at delivery).
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