An article worth reading and tells about the BASIS of Cricket in Pakistan
Getting it taped on Saturday night
ON TOUR IN PAKISTAN
Jonathan Dyson
Sunday November 13, 2005
The Observer
As Pakistan’s cricket-obsessed public looked back on the first day of the England series last night, many were getting ready to play their own form of the game. Every Saturday night, all across Pakistan, matches between families, groups of friends and organised teams take place in the streets. Once the traffic has thinned, lights specifically purchased for cricket are switched on and play begins.
The games feature aggressive batting, fierce pace bowling and beguiling spinners. There is the same passion, intensity and drama as in the Test arena. The only difference is, rather than a conventional cricket ball, a tennis ball wrapped in tape heads towards the batsman. Welcome to tapeball cricket, or as it is known to many in Pakistan, simply cricket.
Since its inception in the early 1980s, tapeball has revolutionised the game here - and it could do the same in England, having been adopted by the London Community Cricket Association as a children’s game on 30 council estates, thus making cricket available to those who would not normally be able to play it. It is estimated that of all those who play some kind of organised cricket in Pakistan, 80 per cent play with a tapeball, and 20 per cent with a hard ball. Using a normal cricket ball in the densely populated cities just isn’t practical. Everywhere you look there are vulnerable windows, rickshaws and pedestrians.
A tapeball, even when hit with the force of a Shahid Afridi straight six, would do little damage to anything other than a bowler’s pride :hehe: . And without the risk of injury, there is no need to purchase pads and gloves - an impossible luxury for most of the cricketing population. **A tapeball, however, moves in the air and off the pitch, sorry, street, in much the same way as the real thing. The tape adds extra weight to the tennis ball and a final strip placed round the centre acts as a seam. ** (zarorat ejaad ki maa hai) :eek: :k:
A typical game is six overs per side and several matches take place through the night. In the summer, when the days are insufferably hot, play starts at midnight and goes on till dawn. One evening in Lahore I was invited to take part. It is the closest I will ever get to playing in a floodlit one-day international. During my brief innings, balls passed the outside edge at astonishing speed, while others turned square one way and then the other. As for bowling, I had never felt so inadequate, and that is saying something. :hehe:
The quality of the cricket is high, given the humble setting, and this is where many Test players are discovered. Shoaib Akhtar was first spotted by his long-time coach Sabih Azhar in a tapeball match. Raheel Pervaiz, 24, a tapeball player from Lahore, explains: ‘We don’t have the open spaces available in countries like England, Australia and South Africa, so even some of the most talented players develop their skills in the streets.’
After a hard week working long hours in the office or factory, struggling to make ends meet in a society based in many ways around the survival of the fittest, the Saturday night matches, which mean a great deal to all those involved, are for many the only opportunity for them to express themselves. ‘Games often involve two families,’ Pervaiz says. ‘When teams have not met before, emotions can run particularly high and fights sometimes occur. Every ball counts and no one wants to let their team-mates down.’
The influence of tapeball cricket on the current Pakistan side is clear. With the right action, a tapeball can swing viciously, and late, which helps explain why Pakistan have produced so many electrifying fast bowlers in recent years. Defensive batsmen are rarely seen in the Test team, which is no surprise given the helter-skelter nature of tapeball. And the fierce intensity of the matches perhaps explains why young Pakistani players aren’t fazed when they enter the international arena.
Tapeball has also spread beyond the streets. During the holy month of Ramadan, tournaments take place around the country at club grounds. Teams adopt a national team and dress up in one-day international replica clothing, with their names and squad numbers on the back of their shirts. These games are 20 overs a side and, after a qualifying round, there is a best-of-three final. It is yet another manifestation of the country’s obsession with one-day international cricket.
esi hi for curiousity sake.
