Inside A Cricket Equipment Factory

Inside A Cricket Equipment Factory

01. A worker stitches two leather halves together with a spherical core inside to form a cricket ball at a factory in Meerut, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Delhi, January 28, 2011, as cricket equipment makers race to meet a demand surge ahead of the Cricket World Cup. The factory produces around 600 balls a day, and each costs retailers 60-600 rupees ($1.30-$13). BDM, a family cricket equipment business for almost 90 years, has made bats, balls and other equipment for most of India's top cricketers, and international stars such as Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and the West Indies legend Brian Lara. India's top cricketers are revered in a country where the sport is almost a religion. Devoid of heavy machinery, the workshop is filled with the thuds of hammers on leather, banging of cork into cores, and the tinkle of needle on steel as dozens of men furiously stitch together 600 balls every day. The workers are paid 5,000 rupees ($110) a month, plus performance-related bonuses. Picture taken January 28, 2011. REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma

Cricket is a game not to everyone's liking. It is often slow paced, the players break for tea and a match can last for days. However, during the next 6 weeks cricket is number one in countries that adore the sport, mainly former English colonies and some new addition such as Kenya and The Netherlands. The Cricket World Cup is being held in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh from February 19th till April 2nd. The main equipment used in cricket are a hard red ball and a square wooden bat. Often made by hand in little Indian factories such as this one.

02. A worker tans pieces of leather which will be used to make cricket balls at a factory in Meerut, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Delhi, January 28, 2011, as cricket equipment makers race to meet a demand surge ahead of the Cricket World Cup. The factory produces around 600 balls a day, and each costs retailers 60-600 rupees ($1.30-$13). BDM, a family cricket equipment business for almost 90 years, has made bats, balls and other equipment for most of India's top cricketers, and international stars such as Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and the West Indies legend Brian Lara. India's top cricketers are revered in a country where the sport is almost a religion. Devoid of heavy machinery, the workshop is filled with the thuds of hammers on leather, banging of cork into cores, and the tinkle of needle on steel as dozens of men furiously stitch together 600 balls every day. The workers are paid 5,000 rupees ($110) a month, plus performance-related bonuses. Picture taken January 28, 2011. REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma

03. A worker sits behind bunches of cork core that are left on the ground to dry before being used to make cricket balls at a factory in Meerut, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Delhi, January 28, 2011, as cricket equipment makers race to meet a demand surge ahead of the Cricket World Cup. The factory produces around 600 balls a day, and each costs retailers 60-600 rupees ($1.30-$13). BDM, a family cricket equipment business for almost 90 years, has made bats, balls and other equipment for most of India's top cricketers, and international stars such as Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and the West Indies legend Brian Lara. India's top cricketers are revered in a country where the sport is almost a religion. Devoid of heavy machinery, the workshop is filled with the thuds of hammers on leather, banging of cork into cores, and the tinkle of needle on steel as dozens of men furiously stitch together 600 balls every day. The workers are paid 5,000 rupees ($110) a month, plus performance-related bonuses. Picture taken January 28, 2011. REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma

04. A worker works on leather pieces which will be used to make cricket balls at a factory in Meerut, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Delhi, January 28, 2011, as cricket equipment makers race to meet a demand surge ahead of the Cricket World Cup. The factory produces around 600 balls a day, and each costs retailers 60-600 rupees ($1.30-$13). BDM, a family cricket equipment business for almost 90 years, has made bats, balls and other equipment for most of India's top cricketers, and international stars such as Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and the West Indies legend Brian Lara. India's top cricketers are revered in a country where the sport is almost a religion. Devoid of heavy machinery, the workshop is filled with the thuds of hammers on leather, banging of cork into cores, and the tinkle of needle on steel as dozens of men furiously stitch together 600 balls every day. The workers are paid 5,000 rupees ($110) a month, plus performance-related bonuses. Picture taken January 28, 2011. REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma

05. A worker uses a hammer to shape a cork wrapped with strings into a spherical core to make a cricket ball at a factory in Meerut, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Delhi, January 28, 2011, as cricket equipment makers race to meet a demand surge ahead of the Cricket world Cup. The factory produces around 600 balls a day, and each costs retailers 60-600 rupees ($1.30-$13). BDM, a family cricket equipment business for almost 90 years, has made bats, balls and other equipment for most of India's top cricketers, and international stars such as Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and the West Indies legend Brian Lara. India's top cricketers are revered in a country where the sport is almost a religion. Devoid of heavy machinery, the workshop is filled with the thuds of hammers on leather, banging of cork into cores, and the tinkle of needle on steel as dozens of men furiously stitch together 600 balls every day. The workers are paid 5,000 rupees ($110) a month, plus performance-related bonuses. Picture taken January 28, 2011. REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma

06. A worker stitches two leather halves together with a spherical core inside the leather halves as part of a cricket ball making process at a factory in Meerut, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Delhi, January 28, 2011 as cricket equipment makers race to meet a demand surge ahead of the Cricket World Cup. The factory produces around 600 balls a day, and each costs retailers 60-600 rupees ($1.30-$13). BDM, a family cricket equipment business for almost 90 years, has made bats, balls and other equipment for most of India's top cricketers, and international stars such as Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and the West Indies legend Brian Lara. India's top cricketers are revered in a country where the sport is almost a religion. Devoid of heavy machinery, the workshop is filled with the thuds of hammers on leather, banging of cork into cores, and the tinkle of needle on steel as dozens of men furiously stitch together 600 balls every day. The workers are paid 5,000 rupees ($110) a month, plus performance-related bonuses. Picture taken January 28, 2011. REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma

07. A worker stitches two leather halves together as part of the cricket ball making process at a factory in Meerut, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Delhi, January 28, 2011, as cricket equipment makers race to meet a demand surge ahead of the Cricket World Cup. The factory produces around 600 balls a day, and each costs retailers 60-600 rupees ($1.30-$13). BDM, a family cricket equipment business for almost 90 years, has made bats, balls and other equipment for most of India's top cricketers, and international stars such as Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and the West Indies legend Brian Lara. India's top cricketers are revered in a country where the sport is almost a religion. Devoid of heavy machinery, the workshop is filled with the thuds of hammers on leather, banging of cork into cores, and the tinkle of needle on steel as dozens of men furiously stitch together 600 balls every day. The workers are paid 5,000 rupees ($110) a month, plus performance-related bonuses. Picture taken January 28, 2011. REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma

08. A worker shines cricket balls before packing them at a factory in Meerut, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Delhi, January 31, 2011 as cricket equipment makers race to meet a demand surge ahead of the Cricket World Cup. The factory produces around 600 balls a day, and each costs retailers 60-600 rupees ($1.30-$13). BDM, a family cricket equipment business for almost 90 years, has made bats, balls and other equipment for most of India's top cricketers, and international stars such as Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and the West Indies legend Brian Lara. India's top cricketers are revered in a country where the sport is almost a religion. Devoid of heavy machinery, the workshop is filled with the thuds of hammers on leather, banging of cork into cores, and the tinkle of needle on steel as dozens of men furiously stitch together 600 balls every day. The workers are paid 5,000 rupees ($110) a month, plus performance-related bonuses. Picture taken January 31, 2011. REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma

09. A worker stamps balls before they are packed at a factory in Meerut, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Delhi, January 31, 2011, as cricket equipment makers race to meet a demand surge ahead of the Cricket World Cup. The factory produces around 600 balls a day, and each costs retailers 60-600 rupees ($1.30-$13). BDM, a family cricket equipment business for almost 90 years, has made bats, balls and other equipment for most of India's top cricketers, and international stars such as Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and the West Indies legend Brian Lara. India's top cricketers are revered in a country where the sport is almost a religion. Devoid of heavy machinery, the workshop is filled with the thuds of hammers on leather, banging of cork into cores, and the tinkle of needle on steel as dozens of men furiously stitch together 600 balls every day. The workers are paid 5,000 rupees ($110) a month, plus performance-related bonuses. Picture taken January 31, 2011. REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma

10. Workers pack cricket balls at a factory in Meerut, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Delhi, January 31, 2011 as cricket equipment makers race to meet a demand surge ahead of the Cricket World Cup. The factory produces around 600 balls a day, and each costs retailers 60-600 rupees ($1.30-$13). BDM, a family cricket equipment business for almost 90 years, has made bats, balls and other equipment for most of India's top cricketers, and international stars such as Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and the West Indies legend Brian Lara. India's top cricketers are revered in a country where the sport is almost a religion. Devoid of heavy machinery, the workshop is filled with the thuds of hammers on leather, banging of cork into cores, and the tinkle of needle on steel as dozens of men furiously stitch together 600 balls every day. The workers are paid 5,000 rupees ($110) a month, plus performance-related bonuses. Picture taken January 31, 2011. REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma

11. A worker shines cricket balls before packing them at a factory in Meerut, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Delhi, January 31, 2011, as cricket equipment makers race to meet a demand surge ahead of the Cricket World Cup. The factory produces around 600 balls a day, and each costs retailers 60-600 rupees ($1.30-$13). BDM, a family cricket equipment business for almost 90 years, has made bats, balls and other equipment for most of India's top cricketers, and international stars such as Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and the West Indies legend Brian Lara. India's top cricketers are revered in a country where the sport is almost a religion. Devoid of heavy machinery, the workshop is filled with the thuds of hammers on leather, banging of cork into cores, and the tinkle of needle on steel as dozens of men furiously stitch together 600 balls every day. The workers are paid 5,000 rupees ($110) a month, plus performance-related bonuses. Picture taken January 31, 2011. REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma

12. Workers carry cricket balls to be packed at a factory in Meerut, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Delhi, January 31, 2011 as cricket equipment makers race to meet a demand surge ahead of the Cricket World Cup. The factory produces around 600 balls a day, and each costs retailers 60-600 rupees ($1.30-$13). BDM, a family cricket equipment business for almost 90 years, has made bats, balls and other equipment for most of India's top cricketers, and international stars such as Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and the West Indies legend Brian Lara. India's top cricketers are revered in a country where the sport is almost a religion. Devoid of heavy machinery, the workshop is filled with the thuds of hammers on leather, banging of cork into cores, and the tinkle of needle on steel as dozens of men furiously stitch together 600 balls every day. The workers are paid 5,000 rupees ($110) a month, plus performance-related bonuses. Picture taken January 31, 2011. REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma

13. A worker colours pieces of leather which will be used to make cricket balls at a factory in Meerut, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Delhi, January 31, 2011, as cricket equipment makers race to meet a demand surge ahead of the Cricket World Cup. The factory produces around 600 balls a day, and each costs retailers 60-600 rupees ($1.30-$13). BDM, a family cricket equipment business for almost 90 years, has made bats, balls and other equipment for most of India's top cricketers, and international stars such as Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and the West Indies legend Brian Lara. India's top cricketers are revered in a country where the sport is almost a religion. Devoid of heavy machinery, the workshop is filled with the thuds of hammers on leather, banging of cork into cores, and the tinkle of needle on steel as dozens of men furiously stitch together 600 balls every day. The workers are paid 5,000 rupees ($110) a month, plus performance-related bonuses. Picture taken January 31, 2011. REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma

14. A worker stitches two leather halves together as part of the cricket ball making process at a factory in Meerut, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Delhi, February 3, 2011 as cricket equipment makers race to meet a demand surge ahead of the Cricket World Cup. The factory produces around 600 balls a day, and each costs retailers 60-600 rupees ($1.30-$13). BDM, a family cricket equipment business for almost 90 years, has made bats, balls and other equipment for most of India's top cricketers, and international stars such as Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and the West Indies legend Brian Lara. India's top cricketers are revered in a country where the sport is almost a religion. Devoid of heavy machinery, the workshop is filled with the thuds of hammers on leather, banging of cork into cores, and the tinkle of needle on steel as dozens of men furiously stitch together 600 balls every day. The workers are paid 5,000 rupees ($110) a month, plus performance-related bonuses. Picture taken February 3, 2011. REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma

15. A worker uses a hammer to shape a cork wrapped in strings into a spherical core as part of the cricket ball making process at a factory in Meerut, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Delhi, February 3, 2011 as cricket equipment makers race to meet a demand surge ahead of the Cricket World Cup. The factory produces around 600 balls a day, and each costs retailers 60-600 rupees ($1.30-$13). BDM, a family cricket equipment business for almost 90 years, has made bats, balls and other equipment for most of India's top cricketers, and international stars such as Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and the West Indies legend Brian Lara. India's top cricketers are revered in a country where the sport is almost a religion. Devoid of heavy machinery, the workshop is filled with the thuds of hammers on leather, banging of cork into cores, and the tinkle of needle on steel as dozens of men furiously stitch together 600 balls every day. The workers are paid 5,000 rupees ($110) a month, plus performance-related bonuses. Picture taken February 3, 2011. REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma

16. A worker cuts a piece of tanned leather which will be used to make cricket balls at a factory in Meerut, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Delhi, February 3, 2011 as cricket equipment makers race to meet a demand surge ahead of the Cricket World Cup. The factory produces around 600 balls a day, and each costs retailers 60-600 rupees ($1.30-$13). BDM, a family cricket equipment business for almost 90 years, has made bats, balls and other equipment for most of India's top cricketers, and international stars such as Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and the West Indies legend Brian Lara. India's top cricketers are revered in a country where the sport is almost a religion. Devoid of heavy machinery, the workshop is filled with the thuds of hammers on leather, banging of cork into cores, and the tinkle of needle on steel as dozens of men furiously stitch together 600 balls every day. The workers are paid 5,000 rupees ($110) a month, plus performance-related bonuses. Picture taken February 3, 2011. REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma

17. A worker wraps strings around a cork as part of the cricket ball making process at a factory in Meerut, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Delhi, February 3, 2011 as cricket equipment makers race to meet a demand surge ahead of the Cricket World Cup. The factory produces around 600 balls a day, and each costs retailers 60-600 rupees ($1.30-$13). BDM, a family cricket equipment business for almost 90 years, has made bats, balls and other equipment for most of India's top cricketers, and international stars such as Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and the West Indies legend Brian Lara. India's top cricketers are revered in a country where the sport is almost a religion. Devoid of heavy machinery, the workshop is filled with the thuds of hammers on leather, banging of cork into cores, and the tinkle of needle on steel as dozens of men furiously stitch together 600 balls every day. The workers are paid 5,000 rupees ($110) a month, plus performance-related bonuses. Picture taken February 3, 2011. REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma

18. A string-wrapped spherical core and two leather halves are weighed before they are made into a cricket ball at a factory in Meerut, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Delhi, February 3, 2011, as cricket equipment makers race to meet a demand surge ahead of the Cricket World Cup. The cricket balls weigh between 155 and 163 gm (0.3 and 0.4 pounds). The factory produces around 600 balls a day, and each costs retailers 60-600 rupees ($1.30-$13). BDM, a family cricket equipment business for almost 90 years, has made bats, balls and other equipment for most of India's top cricketers, and international stars such as Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and the West Indies legend Brian Lara. India's top cricketers are revered in a country where the sport is almost a religion. Devoid of heavy machinery, the workshop is filled with the thuds of hammers on leather, banging of cork into cores, and the tinkle of needle on steel as dozens of men furiously stitch together 600 balls every day. The workers are paid 5,000 rupees ($110) a month, plus performance-related bonuses. Picture taken January 31, 2011. REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma

19. A customer (L) buys a cricket ball at a shop in the old quarters of Delhi February 4, 2011. Picture taken February 4, 2011. REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma

20. A worker carves pieces of willow to make cricket bats at a factory in Meerut, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Delhi, January 31, 2011, as cricket equipment makers race to meet a demand surge ahead of the Cricket World Cup. BDM, a family cricket equipment business for almost 90 years, has made bats, balls and other equipment for most of India's top cricketers, and international stars such as Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and the West Indies legend Brian Lara. The company produces an average of 150,000 bats and 220,000 balls every year, using willow from England and India's northern Kashmir region. Ten percent of its products are exported, mainly to the cricketing heartlands of the UK, Australia and neighbours Pakistan and Bangladesh. Picture taken January 31, 2011. REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma

21. A worker cuts a pice of willow to make a bat at a factory in Meerut, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Delhi, January 31, 2011, as cricket equipment makers race to meet a demand surge ahead of the Cricket World Cup. BDM, a family cricket equipment business for almost 90 years, has made bats, balls and other equipment for most of India's top cricketers, and international stars such as Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and the West Indies legend Brian Lara. The company produces an average of 150,000 bats and 220,000 balls every year, using willow from England and India's northern Kashmir region. Ten percent of its products are exported, mainly to the cricketing heartlands of the UK, Australia and neighbours Pakistan and Bangladesh. Picture taken January 31, 2011. REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma

22. Workers file the edges of cane sticks to form handles for cricket bats at a factory in Meerut, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Delhi, January 31, 2011, as cricket equipment makers race to meet a demand surge ahead of the Cricket World Cup. BDM, a family cricket equipment business for almost 90 years, has made bats, balls and other equipment for most of India's top cricketers, and international stars such as Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and the West Indies legend Brian Lara. The company produces an average of 150,000 bats and 220,000 balls every year, using willow from England and India's northern Kashmir region. Ten percent of its products are exported, mainly to the cricketing heartlands of the UK, Australia and neighbours Pakistan and Bangladesh. Picture taken January 31, 2011. REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma

23. Workers file the edges of cricket bats to a smooth finish and fit cane sticks onto the handles at a factory in Meerut, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Delhi, January 28, 2011, as cricket equipment makers race to meet a demand surge ahead of the Cricket World Cup. BDM, a family cricket equipment business for almost 90 years, has made bats, balls and other equipment for most of India's top cricketers, and international stars such as Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and the West Indies legend Brian Lara. The company produces an average of 150,000 bats and 220,000 balls every year, using willow from England and India's northern Kashmir region. Ten percent of its products are exported, mainly to the cricketing heartlands of the UK, Australia and neighbours Pakistan and Bangladesh. Picture taken January 28, 2011. REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma

24. Workers file the edges of cricket bats to a smooth finish and fit cane sticks onto the handles at a factory in Meerut, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Delhi, January 28, 2011, as cricket equipment makers race to meet a demand surge ahead of the Cricket World Cup. BDM, a family cricket equipment business for almost 90 years, has made bats, balls and other equipment for most of India's top cricketers, and international stars such as Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and the West Indies legend Brian Lara. The company produces an average of 150,000 bats and 220,000 balls every year, using willow from England and India's northern Kashmir region. Ten percent of its products are exported, mainly to the cricketing heartlands of the UK, Australia and neighbours Pakistan and Bangladesh. Picture taken January 28, 2011. REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma

25. Workers file the edges of cricket bats to a smooth finish and fit cane sticks onto the handles at a factory in Meerut, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Delhi, January 28, 2011, as cricket equipment makers race to meet a demand surge ahead of the Cricket World Cup. BDM, a family cricket equipment business for almost 90 years, has made bats, balls and other equipment for most of India's top cricketers, and international stars such as Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and the West Indies legend Brian Lara. The company produces an average of 150,000 bats and 220,000 balls every year, using willow from England and India's northern Kashmir region. Ten percent of its products are exported, mainly to the cricketing heartlands of the UK, Australia and neighbours Pakistan and Bangladesh. Picture taken January 28, 2011. REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma

26. A worker files the edges of a cricket bat to a smooth finish at a factory in Meerut, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Delhi, January 28, 2011, as cricket equipment makers race to meet a demand surge ahead of the Cricket World Cup. BDM, a family cricket equipment business for almost 90 years, has made bats, balls and other equipment for most of India's top cricketers, and international stars such as Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and the West Indies legend Brian Lara. The company produces an average of 150,000 bats and 220,000 balls every year, using willow from England and India's northern Kashmir region. Ten percent of its products are exported, mainly to the cricketing heartlands of the UK, Australia and neighbours Pakistan and Bangladesh. Picture taken January 28, 2011. REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma

27. A worker files the edges of a cricket bat to a smooth finish at a factory in Meerut, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Delhi, January 31, 2011, as cricket equipment makers race to meet a demand surge ahead of the Cricket World Cup. BDM, a family cricket equipment business for almost 90 years, has made bats, balls and other equipment for most of India's top cricketers, and international stars such as Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and the West Indies legend Brian Lara. The company produces an average of 150,000 bats and 220,000 balls every year, using willow from England and India's northern Kashmir region. Ten percent of its products are exported, mainly to the cricketing heartlands of the UK, Australia and neighbours Pakistan and Bangladesh. Picture taken January 31, 2011. REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma

28. Workers file the edges of a cricket bat to a smooth finish at a factory in Meerut, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Delhi, January 31, 2011, as cricket equipment makers race to meet a demand surge ahead of the Cricket World Cup. BDM, a family cricket equipment business for almost 90 years, has made bats, balls and other equipment for most of India's top cricketers, and international stars such as Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and the West Indies legend Brian Lara. The company produces an average of 150,000 bats and 220,000 balls every year, using willow from England and India's northern Kashmir region. Ten percent of its products are exported, mainly to the cricketing heartlands of the UK, Australia and neighbours Pakistan and Bangladesh. Picture taken January 31, 2011. REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma

29. A worker files the edges of a cricket bat to a smooth finish at a factory in Meerut, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Delhi, January 31, 2011, as cricket equipment makers race to meet a demand surge ahead of the Cricket World Cup. BDM, a family cricket equipment business for almost 90 years, has made bats, balls and other equipment for most of India's top cricketers, and international stars such as Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and the West Indies legend Brian Lara. The company produces an average of 150,000 bats and 220,000 balls every year, using willow from England and India's northern Kashmir region. Ten percent of its products are exported, mainly to the cricketing heartlands of the UK, Australia and neighbours Pakistan and Bangladesh. Picture taken January 31, 2011. REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma

30. A worker files the edges of a cricket bat to a smooth finish at a factory in Meerut, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Delhi, January 28, 2011, as cricket equipment makers race to meet a demand surge ahead of the Cricket World Cup. BDM, a family cricket equipment business for almost 90 years, has made bats, balls and other equipment for most of India's top cricketers, and international stars such as Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and the West Indies legend Brian Lara. The company produces an average of 150,000 bats and 220,000 balls every year, using willow from England and India's northern Kashmir region. Ten percent of its products are exported, mainly to the cricketing heartlands of the UK, Australia and neighbours Pakistan and Bangladesh. Picture taken January 28, 2011. REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma

31. Worker file the edges of cricket bats to a smooth finish at a factory in Meerut, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Delhi, January 31, 2011, as cricket equipment makers race to meet a demand surge ahead of the Cricket World Cup. BDM, a family cricket equipment business for almost 90 years, has made bats, balls and other equipment for most of India's top cricketers, and international stars such as Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and the West Indies legend Brian Lara. The company produces an average of 150,000 bats and 220,000 balls every year, using willow from England and India's northern Kashmir region. Ten percent of its products are exported, mainly to the cricketing heartlands of the UK, Australia and neighbours Pakistan and Bangladesh. Picture taken January 31, 2011. Picture taken January 31, 2011. REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma

32. A worker wraps a cloth on the cane handle of a bat after its edges were filed to a smooth finish at a factory in Meerut, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Delhi, January 31, 2011, as cricket equipment makers race to meet a demand surge ahead of the Cricket World Cup. BDM, a family cricket equipment business for almost 90 years, has made bats, balls and other equipment for most of India's top cricketers, and international stars such as Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and the West Indies legend Brian Lara. The company produces an average of 150,000 bats and 220,000 balls every year, using willow from England and India's northern Kashmir region. Ten percent of its products are exported, mainly to the cricketing heartlands of the UK, Australia and neighbours Pakistan and Bangladesh. Picture taken January 31, 2011. REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma

33. A worker carries cricket bats after their edges were filed to a smooth finish at a factory in Meerut, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Delhi, January 28, 2011, as cricket equipment makers race to meet a demand surge ahead of the Cricket World Cup. BDM, a family cricket equipment business for almost 90 years, has made bats, balls and other equipment for most of India's top cricketers, and international stars such as Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and the West Indies legend Brian Lara. The company produces an average of 150,000 bats and 220,000 balls every year, using willow from England and India's northern Kashmir region. Ten percent of its products are exported, mainly to the cricketing heartlands of the UK, Australia and neighbours Pakistan and Bangladesh. Picture taken January 28, 2011. REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma

34. A worker packs bats into cardboard boxes at a factory in Meerut, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Delhi, January 28, 2011, as cricket equipment makers race to meet a demand surge ahead of the Cricket World Cup. BDM, a family cricket equipment business for almost 90 years, has made bats, balls and other equipment for most of India's top cricketers, and international stars such as Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and the West Indies legend Brian Lara. The company produces an average of 150,000 bats and 220,000 balls every year, using willow from England and India's northern Kashmir region. Ten percent of its products are exported, mainly to the cricketing heartlands of the UK, Australia and neighbours Pakistan and Bangladesh. Picture taken January 28, 2011. REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma

35. A worker adjusts the grip on the handle of a cricket bat at a factory in Meerut, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Delhi, January 31, 2011, as cricket equipment makers race to meet a demand surge ahead of the Cricket World Cup. BDM, a family cricket equipment business for almost 90 years, has made bats, balls and other equipment for most of India's top cricketers, and international stars such as Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and the West Indies legend Brian Lara. The company produces an average of 150,000 bats and 220,000 balls every year, using willow from England and India's northern Kashmir region. Ten percent of its products are exported, mainly to the cricketing heartlands of the UK, Australia and neighbours Pakistan and Bangladesh. Picture taken January 31, 2011. REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma

36. A worker packs cricket bats before they are dispatched for sale at a factory in Meerut, 80 km (50 miles) northeast of Delhi, January 31, 2011, as cricket equipment makers race to meet a demand surge ahead of the Cricket World Cup. BDM, a family cricket equipment business for almost 90 years, has made bats, balls and other equipment for most of India's top cricketers, and international stars such as Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya and the West Indies legend Brian Lara. The company produces an average of 150,000 bats and 220,000 balls every year, using willow from England and India's northern Kashmir region. Ten percent of its products are exported, mainly to the cricketing heartlands of the UK, Australia and neighbours Pakistan and Bangladesh. Picture taken January 31, 2011. REUTERS/Parivartan Sharma