[potatofarmer45]

Cricket is a rare game where the condition of the tools used to play the game (the ball) is allowed to alter over the duration of the game. This differs from almost all other sports such as baseball, where new balls are used after every hit or less, and in tennis, where new balls are used after a set number of games.

Imagine how different baseball would be if they only used 1 ball per side for the entire game. Within a few innings, the ball will have much more variance and unpredictability.

[iamgopal]

And one has to plan for it, don't use your reverse swing bowler early on or start with best swing bowling playing batsman etc...