Cricketers making history as Birmingham hosts blind world games
The England team have arrived at their training base in Worcester and are ready for their blind world games debut.
England’s blind cricket team are settling into their Worcester training base ahead of featuring at the International Blind Sport World Games for the first time this month.
Taking place in Birmingham, organisers have said it will be the country’s largest ever blind and partially sighted sporting event with more than 1,100 athletes, nearly 800 sports technical officials, and 400 volunteers coming together to compete in 10 sports.
The games are normally held every four years, and is a relatively modern project for the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA).
England’s men’s blind cricket side captain Ed Hossell says the sport is based on the sighted laws of cricket, with a few notable adaptations.
The ball is the same size as is used in sighted cricket but is made from hard plastic and contains bells to make it audible. The ball is bowled underarm.
Facing Australia on Sunday, the team have the prospect of an Edgbaston final to look forward to.
Hossell said there are even double points on offer: “Blind cricket promotes a lot of teamwork by having kind of a range of people from different categories of visual impairment.
“It plays for some really unique kind of ways that you can bat. The totally blind guys, they get double runs so we have seen the 12 before. I hope to see her at least a couple of eights.”
He added: “It’s a huge privilege to be hosting this anyway and the support we get from the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) is massive.
“But now to be part of the World Blind Games and then Edgbaston getting involved in supporting our version of the sport is huge.
“We're very grateful and it's really exciting and that's the big carrot at the end of the stick.”