Holding a cricket ball

The joy of holding, tossing and twirling a cricket ball transcends the physical act. As fingers curl around the polished leather, the thread of the seam providing a different stream of feel, there’s an immediate connection to motion and flight. The weight of the ball becomes a dance partner, inviting a rhythmic interplay between hand and leather.

The toss of a ball provides you bursts of confirmation that the air between your fingers and all around you exists. Holding it, you are measuring the world. The shortest of short arcs traced by the spinning ball from one hand to the other is a mini trapeze act with your hands and the ball as the artists, and you, the ringmaster.

The fingers turning on the smooth surface, transform the ball into a kinetic work of performance art. They navigate the seam and contours, orchestrating a pretty polka.

In your hands, the ball becomes an extension of your self – a conduit for potential energy turning kinetic. The pleasure lies not just in feeling the never-ending curve of the ball but also in registering its genuine solidity. Ball in hand, everything seems real. Because it is.