Innovation
The innovation of tape ball cricket began in Pakistan in the 1980s. In cities like Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and Sahiwal, where proper equipment, pitches and grounds are a luxury. Informal cricket games are played widely 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.
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Famous quotes containing the word innovation:
“Both cultures encourage innovation and experimentation, but are likely to reject the innovator if his innovation is not accepted by audiences. High culture experiments that are rejected by audiences in the creator’s lifetime may, however, become classics in another era, whereas popular culture experiments are forgotten if not immediately successful. Even so, in both cultures innovation is rare, although in high culture it is celebrated and in popular culture it is taken for granted.”
—Herbert J. Gans (b. 1927)