BLIND SPORTS

VICTORIA

CRICKET

The Game

The game of blind cricket is a version of the game which has been adapted
so that it can be played by blind and partially sighted players. The pitch
is made of concrete and measures the same length and width as used in
sighted cricket. The boundaries are measured 40 metres in a circle around
the pitch and indicated by a white line with flags set at intervals.

The ball used is made of nylon tubing woven around a wire frame and is coloured black. Inside the ball are bottle tops and lead weight to give the
ball an audible sound when bowled or thrown. All bowling and fielding is underarm. The bat is the same as used in sighted cricket. The stumps are
made of metal and welded together and coloured either orange or yellow.

Modified Rules

The team of 11 comprises partially sighted players and totally blind players.

The partially sighted players are further divided into Partially A and Partially B
categories. Partially B players are those who, in the previous season,
averaged less than eight runs whilst batting. The game of blind cricket is
single-ended; that is, there is only one batsman at a time. The batsman is permitted a caller who will stand behind the wicket-keeper and may give the batsman a 'call' as to whether the ball is 'straight', 'off' or 'leg'.

All forms of dismissal from sighted cricket apply except for catching. Partially sighted players who avoid going out when batting are obliged to retire after either scoring 30 runs or facing 8 overs. Similarly, a totally blind batsman must retire after facing 16 overs. Bowling restrictions also apply to categories of players. ie. A Partially A bowler may only bowl to a Partially A batsman, A Partially B bowler may bowl at a Partially B or Partially A batsman, and so on. The pitch has a line marked half way along its length. For a delivery to be
legal, it must bounce on both sides of this line.

These teams play for the VBCA Premiership Shield each season. The
season is made up of 2 round-robin rounds, followed by a Semi Final and a Grand Final. The teams which finish 2nd and 3rd play off in the Semi Final to challenge the team which finishes first.

The game in Action

The game of Blind Cricket tends to be noisier than a game of sighted cricket. When bowling, the bowler is required to ask the batsman if he is ready. If the batsman replies in the affirmative, then the bowler must say "play" as he releases the ball. In addition to this, partially blind bowlers will make use of a caller (usually the wicket keeper). The bowler will call out to the caller, who will call back at the bowler. This process repeats until the bowler is satisfied he
has his aim correct. To add to all this noise, all umpiring decisions are made verbally in addition to the normal umpiring signals.

All Games are played at the Charlie Bradley Pavilion, 454 Glenferrie Road, Kooyong

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