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 Akhtar. 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.
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