ADJ

billiard, cricket, golf, rugby,
at a/the ~
She met him at
head, hit, kick, roll, strike, throw
The kids love to kick a ball against my wall.the college ball
clear, cross, pass
catch, stop
He caught the ball
control, trap
chase
She chased the ball all over the pitch
retrieve, run down
return
The fielders try to retrieve the ball quickly and return it to the bowler
miss
The goalkeeper missed the ball
drop, let go of
Oh no! He's dropped the ball
handle
give away, lose
win
retain

VERB + BALL

have, hold, organize tennis, etc.
beach
match,
We're organizing a charity ball
practice attend, go to
play with
bat, blast,

BALL + NOUN

gown bounce, bowl, chip, dribble,
game
control, skills
His ball control was excellent

BALL + VERB

fly, go, roll, sail
The ball flew over the bar into the sea of Middlesbrough fans. The ball's gone over the fence
hit, land
The ball hit the wall and rolled along the road
bounce, rebound

ADJ

good, great, superb
bad, loose
high, low
He sent over a high ball
long, short
quick, slow
cross, through
a superb through ball from John Scott
hand
He was penalized for hand ball

VERB + BALL

play, send
pick up, pounce on, punish
He pounced on a loose ball and scored

PREP

~ from
a great ball from Beckham

ADJ

tight
fiery
The sun was a fiery ball, low on the hills
crystal (= used for telling fortunes)
Without a crystal ball it's impossible to say where we'll be next year
cannon, musket

VERB + BALL

curl/roll (up) into
The little girl curled up into a ball in her mother's arms
form/make sth into, roll/screw sth (up) into, shape sth into
He screwed the letter up into a tight ball

PHRASES

a ball of fire/flame, a ball of string/wool
a ball and chain (figurative)
The responsibility was a ball and chain around my ankle

ADJ

college, charity, hunt