Find out about tapeball cricket

If you've been inspired to get into cricket by England's Ashes success, but live in a part of the country where it's not easy to get to a pitch, the answer could be coming to a street near you - Tapeball.

It's a bit like Twenty20 cricket but even shorter, and can be played anywhere, like a street or on a tennis court.

Instead of those heavy - and pricey - cricket balls you use a tennis ball, but one wrapped in sticky tape to make it behave a bit more like a cricket ball.

The taped up balls don't bounce as high as a tennis ball, and can skid through like a cricket ball and even spin, and shouldn't hurt people (or windows!) as much as a conventional ball.

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And because the tapeball isn't as tough there's no need for pads or gloves - just a ball, two bats and couple of sets of stumps.

It's not just in cities like London where the sport has taken off, it's massive in Pakistan - where England play their next Test series - and it's even played in New York in the US.

Tennis balls are covered in tape to be used in tapeball cricket

The rules in tapeball cricket aren't as strict as the normal form of the game, and it's designed so it can be played quickly by however many people are around.

The 10 rules that are used by the London Community Cricket Association are:

• Bowling - Each time bowls a maximum of 20 balls
• Every member of the fielding team has to bowl at least one delivery
• All the bowling is done from one end
• Wides and no balls score two runs and the batsman gets a free hit the next ball
• Batting - Runs are scored when a shot hits the side walls, as well as running
• If you hit the ball out of the area you're playing in, you're out
• You can be caught out off walls or fences
• Byes, leg byes and overthrows must be run
• The last batsman can continue batting on his own until he is out, or there are no balls left
• If the scores are level at the end of the match the team that lost the fewest wickets wins

At the moment tapeball is starting up in London, but interest in the new-style sport is high, so keep an eye out near you for more information on getting involved.

And even if there isn't a club, all you need is a tennis ball, some tape and a bat, so what's stopping you?