Kookaburra is an Australian sports equipment company, specialising in Australian rules football,

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

, and

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

equipment, named after the Australian kingfisher. The company notably manufactures the most widely used brand of ball used in

One-day internationals A One Day International (ODI) is a form of limited overs cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of overs, currently 50, with the game lasting up to 9 hours. The Cricket World C ...

and

Test cricket Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last f ...

History

The company was founded in 1890 as A.G. Thompson Pty Ltd by Alfred Grace Thompson, a migrant harness and

saddle The saddle is a supportive structure for a rider of an animal, fastened to an animal's back by a girth. The most common type is equestrian. However, specialized saddles have been created for oxen, camels and other animals. It is not k ...

maker who turned to manufacturing cricket balls when his livelihood was threatened by the advent of the motor car. In the mid-1980s, the company diversified into manufacturing the full range of cricket bats, clothing, footwear and protective equipment. In addition to its Australian operations, Kookaburra has offices in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, South Africa, Bangladesh and India. Kookaburra's Turf Cricket Ball has been used exclusively in Australia, New Zealand and South African Test Cricket since 1946. The company sponsors a junior cricket tournament called the Kookaburra Cup. It also has endorsement deals with many players including former Australia Captain Ricky Ponting and Martin Guptill of New Zealand. Current ranges of equipment are Kahuna, Fever, Ghost, Rapid, Rampage, Shadow, Beast, and Patriot, an exclusive range sold at the Greg Chappell Cricket Centre. Previous ranges include Diablo, Ridgeback, Genesis, Blade, Sword, Ice, CCX, XLR8, Blaze and Surge. Kookaburra also manufacture hockey sticks and equipment which are used by many top international players such Liam De Young, Charlotte Craddock, Madonna Blyth and Marsha Marescia. Flagship stick models include the Phoenix L-Bow and the Dragon M-Bow stick. The Kookaburra Dimple Elite hockey ball has been used in all Olympic Games since 1984.

Products

References

The white ball wonder
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MCC's silly point
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The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'', 4 March 2006.

External links

* {{Sports equipment brands Australian brands Sportswear brands Manufacturing companies established in 1890 1890 establishments in Australia Cricket equipment manufacturers Manufacturing companies based in Melbourne Sporting goods manufacturers of Australia

History

Products

See also

References

External links