Tapeball cricket in Saint Lucia is a version of the beloved sport that is certainly on the rise. Popularised in schools, alleyways and other non-traditional areas both locally and internationally, this form of the game replaces the traditional hardball with a tennis ball wrapped in electrical tape, altering its swing, bounce, and speed.
From its humble beginnings, tapeball cricket has evolved into an organised sport on the international stage, and Saint Lucia now seems ready to take the leap toward global recognition.
The development of tapeball cricket on the island has been largely spearheaded by Cyrus Cepal, an educator and passionate cricket enthusiast. Organised tapeball cricket in Saint Lucia traces its roots to the Adventist Premier League (APL), a Seventh-day Adventist league that brought together districts of church members in friendly competition.
Over time, the league expanded to include invitational teams from across the island, many from outside the Adventist circle. With the increasing number of participants, the Tapeball Premier League was eventually established, followed by the creation of the Saint Lucia National Tapeball Association (SLNTA), with Cepal now serving as president.
Since its inception, the SLNTA has facilitated bilateral tours with Dominica, where Saint Lucian teams have travelled to the Nature Isle and Dominican teams have competed in Saint Lucia. One such recent tour delivered mixed results: Dominica captured the Youth Title with a 3-0 win over Saint Lucia, while Saint Lucia Youth secured the Invitational Title by edging Tafia Boys 1-0. In the Veterans’ series, Saint Lucia Veterans defeated Dominica 3-1, but Dominica Youth clinched the T10 Blast crown.
Following the tour, the association hosted a thanksgiving ceremony on August 17 at the District One Educational Office. Present at the event were officials from across Saint Lucia’s sporting landscape, including Carol Henry, secretary of the Windward Islands Cricket Board. Henry, a former president of the Saint Lucia National Cricket Association and a founding member of the United Raiders Cricket Club, revealed that the SLNTA has linked up with other tapeball associations across the region to establish the Windwards Tapeball Association. The body has already gained recognition from the International Tapeball Council, the global governing body for the sport.
“We have floor members from Saint Lucia, from more recently St Vincent and the Grenadines and Dominica. We don’t have Grenada on board yet, and they are the stragglers,” Henry said during the ceremony.
“We have made some good progress, but not the kind of progress that we wanted to make. We have become registered with the International Tapeball Council, of which you have all the big cricket-playing nations around there. I’m talking about Australia, India, Pakistan, you name it. Imagine we do not have a West Indies Tapeball Association, but we have a Windward Tapeball Association that will, in so doing, represent the West Indies because there’s not a West Indies one yet.”
Looking ahead, the SLNTA hopes to organise tours to other regional territories such as Guyana and Antigua and Barbuda, helping spread the sport further across the Caribbean. The long-term vision includes the creation of a West Indies Tapeball Team and, ultimately, participation in a Tapeball World Cup.
