More than 400 people attended Yorkshire’s annual tapeball cricket tournament, which was held under floodlights in Keighley.
Hosted at Marley Stadium in the town by Yorkshire Cricket Foundation, the event was a huge success and well received by the local community, with 13 teams and hundreds of cricketers taking part in the day/night tournament.
Shipley-based Azad CC reached the final but could not take home the title, falling to Pendle CC at the end of the night.
Tapeball cricket involves a tennis ball wrapped in electrical tape and is used in backyard cricket; it is massively popular in South Asian countries, where tennis balls are cheaper to get hold of and using them as opposed to proper cricket balls puts less strain on bowlers, means proper cricket bats aren’t always necessary, and reduces the risk of injury or damage to passers-by or surrounding buildings.
The addition of tape to the ball gives it added weight, speed and distance and additional tape can be used to mimic a seam.
Tape Ball Cricket being played in Myra Shay
The tournament was staged as a day/night tournament at the end of August, with 13 teams of eight players taking part, with fast paced four overs per side matches.
In the final, Azad posted 39 from their four overs, but Pendle passed the run total with five balls to spare.
Azad did however pick up the player of the tournament prize, which went to Hafiz Omar.
Yorkshire Cricket Foundation has thanked Naheem Malik, secretary of the Quaid e Azam Sunday Cricket League, and his team, who organised the day’s fixtures and also handled umpiring and scoring for every game.
Yorkshire Cricket Foundation is now hoping to hold these tournaments on a more regular basis, with people from all walks of life invited to take part.