First tape ball cricket pitch now open in Brampton offers more ways to play

There’s a new way to play cricket in Brampton now that the first-ever dedicated tape ball pitch has opened in the city.

Located at Brampton’s Chris Gibson Park, the tape ball grounds opened last week and offers cricket players a different, low-impact way to play the game.

Tape ball is cricket played with a tennis ball wrapped in electrical tape, and was pioneered in the ’60s as a way to make the game more accessible. The game is played in a smaller area than traditional hardball cricket, doesn’t require any specialty equipment to play, and found its own niche in the cricket community.

With an artificial pitch, sight screen, lights and bleachers, the new tape ball grounds will provide more access to players in Brampton and is just the latest in a swath of investments the city has made as part of a push to become the “Cricket Capital of North America.”

Recent projects have included a four-lane batting cage at the Kwality Sweets Cricket Pitch, another four batting cages at the Save Max Sports Centre, and shade shelters at various pitches across the city provide some relief during the summer months.

The tape ball court saw a grand-opening on Thursday with an exhibition tape ball match and BBQ. Brampton City Councillors Paul Vicente, Gurpartap Singh Toor, Harkirat Singh and Rowena Santos took in the action along with Mayor Patrick Brown.

“This is a modified version of cricket which is inexpensive, safe and easy for residents of all ages to play. We are making Brampton the recreation capital of Canada,” Brown said on social media.

You can check out the new tape ball pitch at Chris Gibson Park at 125 McLaughlin Rd. North in Brampton.