I played a fair bit of cricket and soccer growing up. As resources were not in abundance, we used the following as replacements for equipment.
Cricket bat replacement: Part of a coconut tree branch, scratch pad
Cricket ball replacement: Crushed paper ball (played with a scratch pad)
Soccer ball replacement: Tennis ball, Crushed coca cola can
The handle part of a coconut tree cricket bat (Source)
There were many other substitutes to other games too. Like these, none were close to perfect. But, as kids looking to play, it didn’t really matter. The most important thing was to just play. As kids, we readily accepted plan A was not likely to happen and moved very quickly to plans B, C, D and so on.
As I’ve grown up and gotten used to having more resources, I have found myself occasionally getting thrown off when plan A doesn’t work. This could be a reaction to small annoyances – a power cord that doesn’t work, a faulty presentation adapter, etc.
Remembering these childhood hacks from days with meager resources is a good reminder that I should respond better.
A Learning a Day 