The ball

[sunburnt_spinner]

For the more serious backyard contests or if you find the ball bouncing too much you can depend on the ol' electrical tape to make things happen.

The half taped tennis ball is the most common round here. Our rules state when the match begins a newly half taped ball is used. Eventually the tape might come off but if this happens half way thru an innnings it can only be replaced by a tape seam (making a seam out of the tape instead of totally taping half the ball).

Playing on harder surfaces (especially in Australia) requires the use of tape otherwise you will never bowl anyone without anything but a full toss cause the bounce is too great in most backyards.

 

[Lach]

I remember once at some school rehearsal thing, me and a few mates were backstage so we decided to play cricket in the carpark and made a ball out of lots of duct tape. Worked a treat and you could still give it a fair belting.

 

[Greeny]

lach, you will stil happy to see me when i urned up with a tennis ball though. BTW, i still ahvent got back my cricket bat form you back stage fools!

 

[sean]

Gee Lach, I seem to remember belting your mediocre medium pace straight back over your head!

Nearly cleared the carpark too :P

 

[Odie]

We used to tape the ball. Not so much to reduce the bounce, but to give it a bit of spin. Because we were all kids, our spin bowling was a bit substandard.

Our rule regarding the tape on the ball was that if it started coming off midway through an over, you were able to fix it with, as someone else said, a seam.

At the end of an over, if it was really stuffed, then you could replace the tape. Otherwise if it looked as if it was going to hold on, then it was play on.

 

[hank_thebigman]

using the old shane warne cricket balls for backyard goes alright, thats when the duck tape stocks have diminished and are unavailable.. the S.W. balls are plastic with a seam, they turn and swing a bit... can do a bit of damage to a persons body and pride if hit with it.. top choice although still number 2 to the old duct tape ball.. yours in cricket!

 

[Langeveldt]

Our ball is the Reader orange "standard issue" windball, available at all good retailers in the south west, and has admirable window-piercing qualities...

 

[Dochster]

im a still a kid and i still go out back and play a bitta cricket with ma mates...

electrical tape and a tennis ball makes things interesting... espcially on the pitch we use to use... up the batting end it was so uneven that ppl had trouble making 10 or more per bat...

ma mate was is a beautiful fluke or skill spinner of the ball and always pitches outside leg and bowls me ...

 

[greencarrot2]

for the ball i use one of the spongy c&g balls you get from any c&g cup match or totesport league match. and they r free!! ive got abpout 20

 

[cbuts]

For the more serious backyard contests or if you find the ball bouncing too much you can depend on the ol' electrical tape to make things happen.

The half taped tennis ball is the most common round here. Our rules state when the match begins a newly half taped ball is used. Eventually the tape might come off but if this happens half way thru an innnings it can only be replaced by a tape seam (making a seam out of the tape instead of totally taping half the ball).

Playing on harder surfaces (especially in Australia) requires the use of tape otherwise you will never bowl anyone without anything but a full toss cause the bounce is too great in most backyards.

dont think it matters where u play - a tennis ball should be no match for most batters. haha same rules as everyone uses hre to - half taped ball, but no fixing during the innings bar the seam

 

[Mr. P]

just a regulation tennis ball works a treat for me I play front yard cricket...in the driveway is the PERFECT place...

 

[cbuts]

id tear u up

 

[Tom Halsey]

We use

a) a proper cricket ball, or
b) one of those red and white practise balls, if we can't be ****ed to pad up...

 

[The Baconator]

i think the ball used depends on how serious u r
i was never that serious so i just used tennis balls

 

[SafirXP]

plain tennis balls ~ spin bowling... never failed me! you get good flight, the ball dips a lot too! when bowling fast quick off break deliveries turn out to be good outswingers, they swing out BUT come in after pitching! works great against lefty batsmen!

half tape ~ love it, but it swings too much, so you gotta balance out the weight on both sides of the seam to get a less exaggerated swing!

full tape ~ no problems as long as it has a seam! sometimes we put a few rounds of thick thread before we tape it! try it sometimes

 

[radobar]

Full tape with a seam is the way i plyed backyard cricket, got some good swing with it

 

[cbuts]

the exaggerated swing is the whole point of the half taped ball. if u can control it the batter is in the ****

 

[deeps]

we play with half taped all the time, and i find it really helps your batting. It gets to the point where all the bowlers can control it. (you aim about a metre outside off) and get it to swing in, and it should be around middle stump.

It gets to the stage where we still cannot get our batsman out with that much swing, and bowling at high pace. Then we start bowling lemons off the treE

 

[Dydl]

To which effect?

 

[Link]

The tennis ball that gets wet and then when it dries hardens up, is perfect, lower bounce and more turn