SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 12 September 2025, Shift 3 · General Awareness · Question 5 of 100

We transcribed this text from the pictures on a candidate's response sheet for this shift; the answer is the key SSC colour-marked on that sheet. Solution last reviewed 11 September 2026.

Where this paper and its answers come from

SSC does not publish CGL question papers or a public answer key. From 2025 the candidate response sheet prints every question and option as a picture, so the text here is transcribed from those pictures for this shift and checked against them independently; where the layout carries meaning, the picture is shown as well. Each answer is the key SSC colour-marked on that sheet. SSC released a tentative key for challenge and later its final one, both only to candidates behind a login, and the sheet does not say which of the two it carries. The solutions are written by UnlockIAS.

Why is the weight and circumference of a cricket ball strictly regulated in official matches?

(a)Heavier balls suit bowlers, lighter ones suit batsmen, so balance is needed
(b)Variations affect bounce, swing, and fairness on standard pitches
(c)ICC mandates it to cut costs and simplify logistics
(d)Only red balls follow this; white balls have separate norms

Answer

Why

Correct — B. Law 4 of the MCC's Laws of Cricket fixes a new men's ball at 155.9-163 g and 22.4-22.9 cm in circumference, with separate ranges for women's and under-13 cricket.

A ball's weight and size change how it comes off the pitch and moves through the air. Holding every ball inside one narrow band keeps bounce and swing comparable and the contest fair, which is option (b).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
Heavier balls suit bowlers, lighter ones suit batsmen, so balance is needed — This invents a trade-off. Law 4 does not say heavier balls help bowlers or lighter ones help batters. It sets one narrow band so that every ball behaves alike.
(c)
ICC mandates it to cut costs and simplify logistics — The limits come from Law 4 of the Laws of Cricket, the MCC's code, and they concern how the ball plays. The Law says nothing about cost or logistics.
(d)
Only red balls follow this; white balls have separate norms — Law 4 does not distinguish ball colour. Its separate specifications are for men's, women's and under-13 cricket, so a white ball in men's cricket meets the same limits as a red one.

Concept

The Laws of Cricket, published by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), specify the ball in Law 4.

A new men's ball must weigh 5.5-5.75 oz (155.9-163 g) and measure 8.81-9 in (22.4-22.9 cm) round. Women's balls are 140-151 g and 21.0-22.5 cm, and under-13 balls 133-144 g and 20.5-22.0 cm.

The Law also puts all match balls in the umpires' possession before the toss, under their control throughout the match.

Law 4 states limits, not reasons. The keyed reason is the one that names what a uniform ball protects: comparable bounce and swing, and a fair contest.

Key facts

Law 4.1: a new men's ball weighs 155.9-163 g and measures 22.4-22.9 cm in circumference.
Law 4.6 sets women's balls at 140-151 g and 21.0-22.5 cm.
Under-13 balls are 133-144 g and 20.5-22.0 cm.
Law 4.2 puts all match balls in the umpires' possession before the toss.

Study next

Law 5 of the Laws of Cricket, the batThe new-ball rule in matches of more than one day, set at 80 overs in Test cricketThe MCC as the author of the Laws of Cricket

Common traps

Picking the answer that sounds like tactics, bowlers against batters, over the one about uniform conditions.
Assuming red and white balls follow different weight rules because they are used in different formats.

Here a rule is tested through its purpose rather than its numbers. Cricket's rules also appear at 17 Sep 2024, 12:30, GA Q.14, which asks the format the follow-on belongs to (keyed only Test matches).

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.