Traditionally cricket is played with a leather ball, either red in colour for Test matches or white for limited overs format such as T20Is and ODIs. But an England Cricket club is planning to switch from the traditional cricket ball to a new “vegan” ball.

According to reports from the Daily Mail, the English Cricket Club is testing vegan cricket balls which are made using a rubber covering. The club had already introduced a vegan tea for their players two years ago, hence this club is popularly known as vegan cricket club.

The Chairman of the club Gary Shacklady had turned vegan five years ago, and he is confident that adopting a solely plant-based lifestyle will give the team the edge over their opponents.

When Shacklady was asked about these new “vegan” balls, he said, “It does behave like a leather cricket ball, but it bounces more and it's more difficult to grip. But we're enthused by it and we're hopeful of finding a better version.”

While talking about the time when he decided that the club should give up meat, Shacklady said, “We had one member who was against it, He felt that it was quite exclusive and against people's right to meat.”

He also felt that the club's meat-based catering meant Muslim and Hindu players were being excluded.

When the chairman was asked about benefits of turning vegan, he said, “The teas have been well received as our players understand and support the reasoning behind the decision. It also means we can produce a far larger quantity of food for a lower cost.”

(With IANS inputs)