Blind cricket
| Characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Equipment | Helmet, gloves, box, thigh guard, leg guard, shoes and the most important part, the bat. |
| Presence | |
| Olympic | No |
| Paralympic | No |
Blind cricket is a version of the sport of cricket adapted for blind and partially sighted players. It has been governed by the World Blind Cricket Council (WBCC) since 1996. So far, four Blind World Cups have been held, New Delhi, India (1998); Chennai, India (2002) and Islamabad, Pakistan (2006). In 2012, the first Blind World Cup T20 was held in Bangalore, India. Blind cricket relies on common use of the 'sweep shot', in order to provide maximum chance of the bat hitting the ball.India won the blind T20 World Cup in 2017 by beating Pakistan by 9 wickets.
Blind cricket was invented in Melbourne in 1922 by two blind factory workers who improvised the game using a tin can containing rocks. The Victorian Blind Cricket Association was founded shortly after, in 1922, and the first sports ground and clubhouse for blind cricket was built at Kooyong, Melbourne in 1928.
World’s first Test Cricket match for the Blind was played between Pakistan and South Africa in which Pakistan defeated South Africa by 94 runs.
South Africa won first BCWC in 1998 defeating Pakistan in the finals, while Pakistan consecutively won next two BCWC defeating South Africa and India in the finals in 2002 and 2006. In 2014 championship was won by India defeating the two-time winner Pakistan.
WBCC International playing rules are classified in 25 classes. Each class has single or multiple clauses, the copy of original document can be found here.
The rules of blind cricket are based on the standard Laws of cricket with some essential modifications.
In terms of playing equipment, the major adaptation is the ball, which is significantly larger than a standard cricket ball and filled with ball bearings. The size allows partially sighted players to see the ball and the contents allow blind players to hear it. The wicket (stumps) is also larger, to allow partially sighted players to see and blind players to touch it in order to correctly orient themselves when batting or bowling.
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