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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]
Tennis Cricket is becoming popular in European countries recently. In 2022, Poland experience a finer quality of amateur level of tennis cricket season. Warsaw, the capital of Poland, had 12 teams participating in back to back four different full-fledged tournaments. The Softball Cricket Club (SCC) in Poland has made immense progress in making the tennis cricket culture popular in Poland. Recently, the number of participants has doubled and likely to continue in near future. Indian Expat (Mr. Kumar - Head of Development - EUROPE (ITCF) in Poland are working on to introduce Tennis Cricket as sports in Polish Schools. ACADEMY OF TENNIS CRICKET has been operating since 2022 to promote, support, and teach young kids tennis cricket from School.
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, which is designed to “unite the finest local cricket talent in India” and create “a comprehensive platform for players to showcase their skills.The ISPL has roped in 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]