The England and Wales Cricket Board hopes to unearth a new seam of talent beyond the game’s traditional league structure with a national tape ball scheme that allows players to thrive without “whites, willow and leather”.
The practice of using a soft ball wrapped in electrical tape to aid swing and variable bounce is a common one in Asia, where it has helped produce express pace bowlers like Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi and spinners such as Rashid Khan and Shakib-al-Hasan, but has been slow to enter the mainstream conversation in the United Kingdom.
The Chance to Shine charity has long pioneered tape ball cricket as part of its engagement hubs and now, with the ECB keen to live up to its lofty aspiration of becoming the most inclusive team sport in the country, it is at the heart of a new core cities programme designed to engage ‘diverse communities in urban areas’.
Speaking at a launch event where games were hosted in a warehouse space in Birmingham, ECB chief executive Richard Gould was optimistic about reaching out to those with an interest in cricket but limited access to the pavilions and prepared pitches in the club setup.
“We talk about clubs with picket fences around them. In the past that has been seen as the preserve of the ECB. We’ve missed a complete trick on that,” he said.
“When we talk about the recreational game we’re not just talking about Premier League clubs and village cricket clubs now. We’re talking about all forms of cricket that take place.
“You can play the game anywhere, any time, with anybody, in any environment you want. You don’t have to have whites, willow and leather to do it. You can just pick up a bat and a ball and have some fun.”
As well as fulfilling its remit of reaching out to all comers at a grassroots level, Gould also believes there are benefits to finding cricketers with different styles who have learned the game outside the traditional, private-school heavy pathways.
“Without doubt there are,” he said. “We have to get out and try to find the talent. More to the point, we have to try and find talent in areas that we haven’t normally looked for it.
“I do think county pathways will be looking to make sure they don’t miss out on this talent. It’s just about punching through all of our normal procedures and finding ways to both get people in the game and unearthing that talent which may be unorthodox and great.”
Bairstow and Moeen left out of England's white-ball squad
Jonny Bairstow and Moeen Ali have both been left out of England's white-ball series squad, with five uncapped players named.
As Jos Buttler looks to the future, Warwickshire batting all-rounders, Jacob Bethell and Dan Mousley, have been given their first international call-ups for the three-match T20 series against Australia next month.
Essex batter Jordan Cox, Hampshire seamer John Turner and Leicestershire left-arm bowler Josh Hull, who was named as Mark Wood's replacement in the Test squad to play Sri Lanka, have also been picked.
The latter three will also be involved for the five one-day internationals that follow.
World Cup winners Bairstow and Moeen, who have been regular fixtures in England's white-ball squad for over a decade, could have made their final international appearances after being left out of the squad, with Chris Jordan also being overlooked.
Brydon Carse, however, has been recalled for both squads after serving a betting ban, while Saqib Mahmood returns for the T20 series after recovering from injury. Buttler will also be fit to feature after overcoming a calf injury.
Marcus Trescothick will lead England for the first time against Australia after being named Matthew Mott's interim replacement.
Mott left in July following England's semi-final exit to eventual champions India in the T20 World Cup, having also failed to help England defend their 50-over world title in 2023.
The first match of the T20 series will take place on September 11 at The Ageas Bowl in Southampton.
England T20 squad to play Australia:
Jos Buttler (captain), Jofra Archer, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Jordan Cox, Sam Curran, Josh Hull, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood, Dan Mousley, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, John Turner.
England ODI squad: Jos Buttler, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Josh Hull, Will Jacks, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Jamie Smith, Reece Topley, John Turner.
Rain restricts play to 15 overs on day one between West Indies and South Africa
Aiden Markram lost his wicket as South Africa reached 45-1 before rain stopped play on day one of the first Test against West Indies.
Markram was dismissed on nine by Jason Holder (1-2) in the 14th over.
Kemar Roach (0-6) had Markram on the back foot throughout, though it was Holder who made the breakthrough with a wicked delivery that sent the South African's off-stump tumbling.
Tony de Zorzi reached 32 not-out and Tristan Stubbs was on two not-out when, during the tea break, play was abandoned for the day.
It means 75 overs of play were lost on day one in Trinidad, where play will start early on day two.
Vandersay rips through India as Sri Lanka snatch series lead
Jeffrey Vandersay tore through India's batting lineup with six wickets as Sri Lanka snatched the ODI series lead with a 32-run victory in Colombo.
Leg-spinner Vandersay managed 6-33 – his best international figures – as Rohit Sharma's tourists collapsed in remarkable fashion on Sunday, falling 1-0 down with one ODI remaining in the three-match series.
India held their hosts to a modest 240-9 in the first innings as Washington Sundar (3-30) led the way, while Avishka Fernando and Kamindu Mendis anchored at either end of the batting order with 40 apiece.
Rohit responded by crashing 64 off just 44 deliveries as India raced to 97 without loss, only for the captain to fall when attempting to reverse sweep a climbing Vandersay delivery in the 14th over.
The 34-year-old spinner would soon remove Shubman Gill, on 35, and Shivam Dube without scoring in the same over, before trapping Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer in front to complete his first ODI five-wicket haul.
KL Rahul followed to leave India struggling at 147-6, though Axar Patel offered resistance before falling on 44 to Charith Asalanka, who then removed Sundar and Mohammed Siraj.
Arshdeep Singh was then run out as a battling Sri Lanka seized control heading into the final clash on Wednesday.
Data Debrief: Vandersay becomes Sri Lanka's new Murali
Vandersay had only managed 27 wickets in 20 previous ODI innings for Sri Lanka, though added six with an eye-catching showing of leg-spin bowling here.
His previous 4-10 best in this format came against cricketing minnows Zimbabwe, but a remarkable six-wicket haul will live long in the memory after dismissing two India greats in Rohit and Kohli.
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