‘Tape Ball’ Cricket Satisfies New York’s Pakistani Bankers

A formal cricket match is played with proper wickets, often on manicured grass fields, with men sporting pristine white attire. However in Downtown Manhattan, since there are so few grass fields, a group of young men from Pakistan, who are high-powered investment bankers during the week, settle for city garbage cans in lieu of proper wickets and are happy to play cricket on the blacktop playground at the corner of 20th St. and Second Ave. Every Saturday morning from April to November, they meet there to play what is called “tape ball,” a street form of cricket that satisfies their cravings for a lively competitive cricket match.