Tennis ball cricket (Softball Cricket) is a variant of cricket played using a tennis ball. It is popular in the Indian subcontinent and is also played in Middle-East, United States, Canada, Australia and Europe. A tennis ball is easier to play with compared to a conventional hard cricket ball and is also less likely to cause injury. There is no definite record as to when this originated in the Indian subcontinent.
Tennis ball cricket originated in the Indian subcontinent though there is no definite record as to when it started. The first Tennis Ball Cricket body was formed in 1982 known as Tennis Ball Cricket Association of India (TBCAI). [1] Many prominent international cricketers have played some form of tennis ball cricket early in their careers. [2] [3]
The rules of this game can vary significantly from standard cricket, and often the rules of regular cricket do not apply as they normally would. The number of overs in a game and players in a team is usually less than in a conventional cricket match. Considering that the ball is not as hard as a professional cricket ball, the use of protective gear like gloves, pads and helmets is optional. The playground can be anywhere from a house backyard to a beach to a relatively-uncrowded street, the courtyard of a school, the driveway of a residential building, agricultural fields or any open public spaces with shorter user defined boundaries and make shift stumps. [4] In the Middle East, it is played in the open desert and baseball or soccer grounds are used in the US, Canada and Europe. [5]
The ball used is a typical tennis ball, a ball that is intended for the sport of tennis. Tennis balls are fluorescent yellow-green in most cases but can be virtually any color in recreational play. Tennis balls are covered in a fibrous felt, which modifies their aerodynamic properties, and each has a white curvilinear oval covering it. [6] [7] The ball may be wrapped with a tape to induce swing in some cases. [4]
As tennis ball cricket matches are shorter and suited to recreational play, conventional tournaments have been hosted in South Asian countries and Middle East. [8] 10PL has been organized at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium since 2020 with the participation of international cricketers like Robin Uthappa and Dwayne Bravo. [9] [10] [11] In 2023, National Tennis Ball Cricket League was established with eight teams in India. [12] In December 2023, The Indian Street Premier League – T10 was announced with Ravi Shastri, former Indian cricket team captain and head coach, as chief mentor. The core committee also consists of Mumbai Cricket Association president Amol Kale and BCCI treasurer Ashish Shelar. [13] In June 2024, The Entertainers Cricket League T10 was announced as India's first social media superstars cricket league. [14] [15] The franchises' captains include Youtubers like Abhishek Malhan, Elvish Yadav, Munawar Faruqui, Sonu Sharma, Anurag Dwivedi, and Harsh Beniwal. [16] [17] Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra was also appointed as League commisioner. [18] This unique cricket league will bring together the top content creators from across India, to showcase their skills and passion for the game.
Backyard cricket, also known as bat ball, street cricket, beach cricket, corridor cricket, garden cricket, gully cricket and box cricket, is an informal variant of cricket. It is typically played in various non-traditional venues such as gardens, backyards, streets, parks, carparks, beaches, and any area not specifically designed for the sport.
Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi is a Pakistani former cricketer and captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. An all-rounder, Afridi was a right-handed leg spinner and a right-handed batsman.
The sport of cricket has a known history beginning in the late 16th century England. It became an established sport in the country in the 18th century and developed globally in the 19th and 20th centuries. International matches have been played since the 19th-century and formal Test cricket matches are considered to date from 1877. Cricket is the world's second most popular spectator sport after association football (soccer).
Cricket is a multi-faceted sport with different formats, depending on the standard of play, the desired level of formality, and the time available. One of the main differences is between matches limited by time in which the teams have two innings apiece, and those limited by number of overs in which they have a single innings each. The former, known as first-class cricket if played at the senior level, has a scheduled duration of three to five days ; the latter, known as limited overs cricket because each team bowls a limit of typically 50 overs, has a planned duration of one day only. A separate form of limited overs is Twenty20, originally designed so that the whole game could be played in a single evening, in which each team has an innings limited to twenty overs.
Aakash Chopra is a cricket commentator, YouTuber and former cricketer who played for the Indian cricket team from 2003 to late 2004.
Rabindra Ramnarine "Robin" Singh is an Indian former cricketer and cricket coach. He represented India in one Test and 136 ODIs between 1989 and 2001 as an all-rounder. He has coached the Indian Premier League's Mumbai Indians since 2010 and the Caribbean Premier League's Barbados Tridents since 2013. He has also coached the Deccan Chargers in the IPL's inaugural year. As a player, he was known for his calmness and ability to perform under pressure. He brought to Indian cricket world class fielding. He was a part of the squad which finished as runners-up at the 2000 ICC Champions Trophy.
Women's cricket is the team sport of cricket when played by women. Its rules are almost identical to those in the game played by men, the main change being the use of a smaller ball. Women's cricket is beginning to be played at professional level in 11 of the 12 full members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), and is played worldwide, especially in Commonwealth nations.
The Sharjah Cricket Stadium is in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. It holds the record for being the venue that hosted the highest number of international matches, 294 matches, up to March 17 2024. It was originally constructed in the early 1980s and has been much improved over the years. The stadium hosted its first international matches in April 1984, in the Asia Cup.
Robin Venu Uthappa is a former Indian cricketer, who last played for Kerala in domestic cricket & Chennai Super Kings in IPL. He has represented team India in ODIs and T20Is.
A tape ball is a tennis ball wrapped in electrical tape that is often used in informal games of cricket such as street cricket, also called tape ball cricket.a First pioneered in Karachi, Pakistan, the tape ball acts as an improvised cricket ball with the tape stretched tightly over the fuzzy felt-like covering of a tennis ball to ensure a smooth surface that produces greater pace after bouncing. Although most street games feature entirely covered varieties, tape balls may also be prepared such that only one side is taped to replicate reverse swing or they may have multiple layers of tape running down the middle to mimic the leather seam found on standard cricket balls. Applying tape makes the ball heavier than a tennis ball, but not as hard or heavy as a cricket ball. As such, this modification seeks to reduce the risks to players, passers-by and property.
Umeshkumar Tilak Yadav is an Indian cricketer who represented the Indian cricket team. He currently plays for Vidarbha in domestic cricket and Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League. He played 57 test matches for India and his fast-bowling contributed of India winning test matches particularly at home. Yadav was a member of the team that won the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy. He was the highest wicket-taker for India in the 2015 Cricket World Cup.
Ahmed Raza is a cricketer who plays for the United Arab Emirates national cricket team. Raza is a right-handed batsman who bowls slow left-arm orthodox.
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game that is played between two teams of eleven players on a field, at the centre of which is a 22-yard pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. Two players from the batting team stand in front of either wicket holding bats, with one player from the fielding team bowling the ball towards the striker's wicket from the opposite end of the pitch. The striker's goal is to hit the bowled ball with the bat and then switch places with the nonstriker, with the batting team scoring one run for each exchange. Runs are also scored when the ball reaches or crosses the boundary of the field or when the ball is bowled illegally.
The Celebrity Cricket League (CCL) is an exhibition men's cricket league in India. It consists of eight teams of film actors from different film industries of Indian cinema. The league commenced in 2011. Salman Khan is the brand ambassador for Celebrity Cricket League from 2011 for all seasons. The CCL teams use various venues for their home games and it has a vast coverage in Indian media.
Pravin Vijay Tambe is an Indian cricketer. Tambe made his Indian Premier League debut at the age of 41, becoming the oldest ever IPL debutant. He had no experience playing professional cricket prior his IPL debut.
Ramakrishnan Sridhar, commonly known as R Sridhar, is a former Indian first-class cricketer and the former fielding coach of the Indian national cricket team. He played for Hyderabad cricket team from 1989/90 to 2000/01, before taking up cricket coaching in 2001.
T10 cricket or Ten10 cricket is a short form of cricket. Two teams play a single innings, which is restricted to a maximum of ten overs per side, with the game lasting approximately 90 minutes.
The European Cricket League (ECL), is a T10 cricket league contested by the cricket clubs of European countries. It was formed with a goal to develop and popularise cricket in the European continent. The league was founded in 2018.
The Indian Street Premier League (ISPL) is a T10 cricket league which had its first season take place from 6-15 March 2024. It is meant to help uncover emerging cricketing talent, with matches played using tennis balls. The entire competition was played at Dadoji Kondadev Stadium, Thane, Maharashtra.
The Entertainers Cricket League T10 is a T10 cricket league where top social media influencers of India are seen competing against each other, with matches played using tennis balls. The inaugural season is set to take place from 13 September 2024 with the final scheduled to be held on 22 September 2024. The entire competition will be played at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, Delhi.