Tape ball
Encyclopedia
A tape ball is a tennis ball
wrapped in electrical tape
and is used in playing street cricket
. This modification of the tennis ball gives it greater weight, speed and distance while still being easier to play with than the conventional cricket ball
. The variation was pioneered in Pakistan
and is greatly attributed to Pakistan's famous production of Fast bowlers
as children are brought up playing the game using a tape ball in which various skills are developed. The increasing popularity of the tape ball in informal, local cricket has transformed the way games are played in cricket-loving nations such as Pakistan
, Bangladesh
and India
. Such has been the impact of tape ball that in recent years some companies have introduced tennis balls designed to act like cricket balls.. These balls are quite popular in the Indian sub-continent where tape ball cricket is one of the most popular forms of the sport
.
, Lahore
, Faisalabad
, Rawalpindi
and Peshawar
and where proper equipment, pitches & grounds are a luxury, tape ball cricket is made to simulate a cricket ball ensuring safety and commitment to the sport. Informal cricket games are played widely and constantly by children and young adults across the cricket-playing world, especially in South Asia
. Local grounds, parks and city streets are common locations to find locals playing the games in afternoons and evenings. The tape ball provided a solution to a vexing issue for these cricket enthusiasts. The conventional cricket ball
, with which professional and amateur club cricket is played, is made out of cork
and leather
, and is heavier than a baseball
. Considerable effort is required on behalf of the bowlers to extract speed and bounce, as well as control of the length and direction. Playing with a conventional cricket ball requires a stronger cricket bat
, and poses a constant danger to players and passers-by who may be struck and severely injured by the ball.
In informal games, either a rubber ball or tennis ball is used as an alternative. The rubber ball is not suitable for the variety of surfaces made use of in informal games; it is too bouncy on cement and concrete and barely bounces at all on grass or soil. An unmodified tennis ball is light, but it is incapable of gaining sufficient speed. By covering a tennis ball
with electrical tape
, the ball's weight and traction are increased, which in turn leads to greater bounce and speed. A tape ball can also be used to mimic a seaming cricket ball by adding an extra layer of tape around the circumference like a seam, the sides can be roughened to mimic conventional swing of a cricket ball. The tape ball is thus a sound compromise between safety and sincerity to the sport.
, Australia
, New Zealand
, South Africa
and the West Indies, but remains most popular and widely used in Pakistan
and Bangladesh
, and, to a lesser extent, in India
and Sri Lanka
. Generations of professional and amateur Pakistani cricket players since the 1980s have been raised playing tape-ball cricket in their neighborhood streets and grounds. Professional cricketers such as Saeed Anwar
, Rashid Latif
, Asif Mujtaba
, Moin Khan
and Basit Ali
enjoy the medium and play regularly. Extensive enthusiasm for the medium has led to the institutionalization of the tape ball in Pakistani cricket .
Tape balls are extensively decorated in different colors, and different kinds of electrical tapes and fibers are used to maximize their advantages.
. The ball also responds forcefully to powerful batting and stroke play, and has helped mold the pinch-hitting style of Shahid Afridi
.
Although not recognized by official cricket bodies, tape-ball cricket is receiving widespread popular, media and commercial support, especially in Pakistan. During festive seasons and the cricket-playing months of winter and spring, major tournaments are organized, often featuring as many as 200 teams representing corporations, clubs and neighborhoods. The influential role of the tape ball on Pakistani cricket has won the attention and respect of cricketing experts, authorities and students of the game.
In 2005, hoping to capitalize on the enthusiasm created by England's win in the 2005 Ashes series
, the London Community Cricket Association began organizing tape ball cricket teams for children on estates in inner-city London, where a lack of playing fields has led to a decline in popularity for traditional cricket. The matches use a variant of the Twenty20 Cricket rules designed to make matches last a half-hour or less.
Tennis ball
A tennis ball is a ball designed for the sport of tennis,approximately 6.7 cm in diameter. Tennis balls are generally bright green, but in recreational play can be virtually any color. Tennis balls are covered in a fibrous fluffy felt which modifies their aerodynamic properties...
wrapped in electrical tape
Electrical tape
Electrical tape is a type of pressure-sensitive tape used to insulate electrical wires and other material that conduct electricity. It can be made of many plastics, but vinyl is most popular, as it stretches well and gives an effective and long lasting insulation...
and is used in playing street cricket
Street cricket
Street cricket or gali cricket is a stripped-down version of the international sport of cricket, popular across the South Asia and in other cricket-playing nations. In the countryside, dried lakes and river beds are often used as playgrounds for cricket. In cities, it is played in apartment...
. This modification of the tennis ball gives it greater weight, speed and distance while still being easier to play with than the conventional cricket ball
Cricket ball
A cricket ball is a hard, solid leather ball used to play cricket. Constructed of cork and leather, a cricket ball is heavily regulated by cricket law at first class level...
. The variation was pioneered in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and is greatly attributed to Pakistan's famous production of Fast bowlers
Fast bowling
Fast bowling, sometimes known as pace bowling, is one of the two main approaches to bowling in the sport of cricket. The other is spin bowling...
as children are brought up playing the game using a tape ball in which various skills are developed. The increasing popularity of the tape ball in informal, local cricket has transformed the way games are played in cricket-loving nations such as Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Such has been the impact of tape ball that in recent years some companies have introduced tennis balls designed to act like cricket balls.. These balls are quite popular in the Indian sub-continent where tape ball cricket is one of the most popular forms of the sport
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
.
Innovation
Innovation of Tape Ball Cricket has been known to be started in Pakistan nearly 3 decades ago (1980's). In cities like KarachiKarachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
, Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, Faisalabad
Faisalabad
Faisalabad , formerly known as Lyallpur, is the third largest metropolis in Pakistan, the second largest in the province of Punjab after Lahore, and a major industrial center in the heart of Pakistan. Before the foundation of the city in 1880, the area was very thinly populated. The population has...
, Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...
and Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
and where proper equipment, pitches & grounds are a luxury, tape ball cricket is made to simulate a cricket ball ensuring safety and commitment to the sport. Informal cricket games are played widely and constantly by children and young adults across the cricket-playing world, especially in South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
. Local grounds, parks and city streets are common locations to find locals playing the games in afternoons and evenings. The tape ball provided a solution to a vexing issue for these cricket enthusiasts. The conventional cricket ball
Cricket ball
A cricket ball is a hard, solid leather ball used to play cricket. Constructed of cork and leather, a cricket ball is heavily regulated by cricket law at first class level...
, with which professional and amateur club cricket is played, is made out of cork
Cork (material)
Cork is an impermeable, buoyant material, a prime-subset of bark tissue that is harvested for commercial use primarily from Quercus suber , which is endemic to southwest Europe and northwest Africa...
and leather
Leather
Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...
, and is heavier than a baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
. Considerable effort is required on behalf of the bowlers to extract speed and bounce, as well as control of the length and direction. Playing with a conventional cricket ball requires a stronger cricket bat
Cricket bat
A cricket bat is a specialised piece of equipment used by batsmen in the sport of cricket to hit the ball. It is usually made of willow wood. Its use is first mentioned in 1624....
, and poses a constant danger to players and passers-by who may be struck and severely injured by the ball.
In informal games, either a rubber ball or tennis ball is used as an alternative. The rubber ball is not suitable for the variety of surfaces made use of in informal games; it is too bouncy on cement and concrete and barely bounces at all on grass or soil. An unmodified tennis ball is light, but it is incapable of gaining sufficient speed. By covering a tennis ball
Tennis ball
A tennis ball is a ball designed for the sport of tennis,approximately 6.7 cm in diameter. Tennis balls are generally bright green, but in recreational play can be virtually any color. Tennis balls are covered in a fibrous fluffy felt which modifies their aerodynamic properties...
with electrical tape
Electrical tape
Electrical tape is a type of pressure-sensitive tape used to insulate electrical wires and other material that conduct electricity. It can be made of many plastics, but vinyl is most popular, as it stretches well and gives an effective and long lasting insulation...
, the ball's weight and traction are increased, which in turn leads to greater bounce and speed. A tape ball can also be used to mimic a seaming cricket ball by adding an extra layer of tape around the circumference like a seam, the sides can be roughened to mimic conventional swing of a cricket ball. The tape ball is thus a sound compromise between safety and sincerity to the sport.
Popular use
Every youth of Pakistan gets introduced to tape ball cricket very early on. Every town, city, and village has tape ball leagues (especially during the month of Ramadan). Export of this idea from Pakistanis who settled in the west has led to its popularity throughout UK, USA, and Canada. The tape ball has gained popularity in EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
and the West Indies, but remains most popular and widely used in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, and, to a lesser extent, in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
. Generations of professional and amateur Pakistani cricket players since the 1980s have been raised playing tape-ball cricket in their neighborhood streets and grounds. Professional cricketers such as Saeed Anwar
Saeed Anwar
Saeed Anwar is a former Pakistani opening batsman. A left-hander, Anwar is most notable for scoring 194 runs against India in Chennai in 1997, then the highest, and now the joint second highest individual score in a One Day International.-Personal life:...
, Rashid Latif
Rashid Latif
Rashid Latif is a former Pakistani wicket keeper and a right handed batsman who represented the Pakistani cricket team in Test cricket and One Day International matches, between 1992 and 2003. He also served as the captain of the Pakistan cricket team in 2003...
, Asif Mujtaba
Asif Mujtaba
Mohammad Asif Mujtaba is a former Pakistani cricketer who played in 25 Tests and 66 ODIs from 1986 to 1997. He is best known for hitting a Steve Waugh full toss on the last ball in an ODI at Hobart in 1992-93 for six, when Pakistan needed 7 runs to win, thereby tying the match...
, Moin Khan
Moin Khan
Mohammad Moin Khan , popularly known as Moin Khan , is a former Pakistani cricketer, primarily a wicketkeeper-batsman, who remained a member of the Pakistani national cricket team from 1990 to 2004. He has also captained the Pakistani side. He made his international debut against the West Indies at...
and Basit Ali
Basit Ali
Basit Ali is a former Pakistani cricketer who played in 19 Tests and 50 ODIs from 1993 to 1996. He was recognized by many to have a similar batting style as Javed Miandad. A right-hander, he has the relatively uncommon statistic of having a higher ODI than Test batting average...
enjoy the medium and play regularly. Extensive enthusiasm for the medium has led to the institutionalization of the tape ball in Pakistani cricket .
Tape balls are extensively decorated in different colors, and different kinds of electrical tapes and fibers are used to maximize their advantages.
Importance in cricket
Tape-ball cricket is considered an integral part of Pakistani cricket and sports culture, with virtually every cricket-playing youth being exposed to it in one form or another. The tape ball's ability to generate bounce and speed has encouraged and influenced Pakistan's fast bowling traditions, including pacemen such as Shoaib AkhtarShoaib Akhtar
Shoaib Akhtar is a former Pakistani right arm fast bowler in cricket, who is regarded as the fastest bowler in the history of cricket. He set an official world record by achieving the fastest delivery, when he clocked in at 161.3 km/h in his bowling speed, twice at a cricket match against...
. The ball also responds forcefully to powerful batting and stroke play, and has helped mold the pinch-hitting style of Shahid Afridi
Shahid Afridi
Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi , popularly known as Shahid Afridi , is a Pakistani cricketer. Between 1996 and 2011, Afridi played 27 Tests, 325 One Day Internationals, and 43 Twenty20 Internationals for the Pakistani national team...
.
Although not recognized by official cricket bodies, tape-ball cricket is receiving widespread popular, media and commercial support, especially in Pakistan. During festive seasons and the cricket-playing months of winter and spring, major tournaments are organized, often featuring as many as 200 teams representing corporations, clubs and neighborhoods. The influential role of the tape ball on Pakistani cricket has won the attention and respect of cricketing experts, authorities and students of the game.
In 2005, hoping to capitalize on the enthusiasm created by England's win in the 2005 Ashes series
2005 Ashes series
The 2005 Ashes series was that year's edition of the long-standing and storied cricket rivalry between England and Australia. Starting on 21 July 2005, England and Australia played five Tests, with the Ashes held by Australia as the most recent victors...
, the London Community Cricket Association began organizing tape ball cricket teams for children on estates in inner-city London, where a lack of playing fields has led to a decline in popularity for traditional cricket. The matches use a variant of the Twenty20 Cricket rules designed to make matches last a half-hour or less.
See also
- Cricket clothing and equipmentCricket clothing and equipmentCricket is traced back to 1550. It was first played in Guildford, Surrey. Later in 1598, cricket was cited in an Italian English dictionary written by Florio. In the year 1676, British residents in Aleppo played cricket abroad for the first time....
- Cricket ballCricket ballA cricket ball is a hard, solid leather ball used to play cricket. Constructed of cork and leather, a cricket ball is heavily regulated by cricket law at first class level...
- Tennis ballTennis ballA tennis ball is a ball designed for the sport of tennis,approximately 6.7 cm in diameter. Tennis balls are generally bright green, but in recreational play can be virtually any color. Tennis balls are covered in a fibrous fluffy felt which modifies their aerodynamic properties...
- Pakistani cricket teamPakistani cricket teamThe Pakistan cricket team is the national cricket team of Pakistan. Pakistan, represented by the Pakistan Cricket Board , is a full member of the International Cricket Council, and thus participates in , and cricket matches....
- Indian cricket teamIndian cricket teamThe Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
- Bangladeshi cricket teamBangladeshi cricket teamThe Bangladesh national cricket team is a national cricket team representing Bangladesh. The team is administered by the Bangladesh Cricket Board . Bangladesh is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status...
- Sri Lankan cricket teamSri Lankan cricket teamThe Sri Lankan cricket team is the national cricket team of Sri Lanka. The team first played international cricket in 1926–27, and were later awarded Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket playing nation...
- South AsiaSouth AsiaSouth Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...