Eye-opening display by blind cricketers (17 November 1998)

17 November 1998

Eye-opening display by blind cricketers

by Kuldip Lal

NEW DELHI, Nov 17 (AFP) - The first-ever World Cup cricket for the visualy impaired opened here on Tuesday amid the rattle of plastic balls, noisy mid-field action and under-arm bowling.

But there was no let up in theatrical appealing as the players, attired in colourful clothing, displayed the same fiery competitive spirit as their national stars.

Teams from seven elite cricketing nations -- England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka -- are taking part in the 10-day event, the first international tournament of it's kind.

Not all players are blind though. Rules allow teams to field three players who are partially blind (20 percent vision) and four partially sighted (40 percent vision), along with four who are totally blind.

The only concession afforded to the totally blind is that they can take the help of runners while batting. But they are required to bowl at least 16 of the allotted 40 overs.

Batsmen and fielders rely wholly on the noise emanating from pebble-filled plastic balls, but that does not hinder fluent cover drives, sweeps and spectacular catches.

"I know it's a boundary the moment the ball strikes the middle of my bat," said Australia's Chris Backstrong, a partially blind batsman who scored a half-century in the opening match against New Zealand.

"I've heard guys like Mark Waugh and Ricky Ponting say the same thing, so I must not be a bad player at all."

Novel tactics and strategy are part of the game. The New Zealanders posted three totally blind players near the bat at silly point, instead of the usual one, to cover the off-side area.

"It's a masterstroke," an admiring supporter said. "These players may not be as effective in the deep. Here they form a wall to stop the off-side strokes."

The three players are well-protected by helmets and chest and abdomen guards, although serious injury is ruled out since the balls weigh only 100 grams (3.5 ounces).

The rules are the same, except that the bowler asks the batsman "ready??" and bowls under-arm only after the batsman has replied "yes". The game is supervised by seeing umpires.

The difference becomes evident when the game halts suddenly as a road-side band strikes up popular Indian film music at a marriage ceremony outside the ground. None of the players can hear the sound of the ball.

Indian Test spinner Anil Kumble said it must be frustrating to play a lovely cover drive and not be able to see the result.

"Most batsmen I know love to watch the ball racing to the boundary and then see television replays of their favorite knocks endlessly," he said.

Each team plays the other once in the round-robin league with the top four advancing to the semi-finals.

"We want to win this one badly," said Indian captain Anand Sharma, regarded by his coach as the equivalent of master batsman Sachin Tendulkar.

"If the Indian team under Kapil Dev could win the World Cup in England in 1983, we can surely do it at home."

Source :: AFP