Cricket is music when they conquer fear, cross the sea of darkness

Today he sits in the sun, “watching” India play South Africa in the Kaniskha World Cup Cricket for the Blind series that’s currently being played in Delhi.

“Very good ball,” he shouts, clapping his hands as ace Indian bowler, Bhalaji Damour, bowls a special plastic ball — with ballbearings inside it to help players track its trail — and get yet another wicket.

Ask Anil if he would like to join the Indian cricket team for the blind some day, and his eyes may remain expressionless but his face will crumple into a delighted grin. “I play cricket every day. Maybe one day I’ll be goodenough to play for my country,” he says.

Maybe Anil will make it. After all, Bhalaji Damour did and he comes from one of the poorest districts of Gujarat. Totally blind, and therefore graded a B-1 as a player, he has been declared Man of the Match in at least two national-level tournaments.

Watch this Standard Class 12 student lope lithely for his bowling run, and you see a slight figure of indomitable courage. Doesn’t he fear a fall? Doesn’t he cringe involuntarily when the ball is flung at him? “They’ve learnt to conquer fear, these boys,” explains Dr B K Panchal, who is the team manager of the Indian squad. Panchal, who has been working with the blind for the last 22 years, stresses the importance of sensory training.

“Cricket is an ideal game for the blind. It’s a team game that provides lots of movement, lots of motivation. Our youngest player is L N Adhikari from West Bengal. He’s 13. You must watch him move,” he says.

There’s pride on Panchal’s face as he says this, because he knows thathis boys are, in a way, more special than the regular Indian cricket team, over which the whole country gets so excited.

“We, as a nation, tend to look down on the blind,” says George Abraham, the man behind this unusual event. “The idea of an event like this is really to tell the world that blind people have goals like anyone else.”These cricketers will, he predicts, become inspirational figures. And not just for the blind themselves. “Parents of disabled children tend to be over-protective. They sometimes don’t realise the potential of their child,” says Abraham.

Being partially sighted himself, he is anxious that the totally blind benefit the most from this.“It is they who have to really hang in there to succeed,” he says. “You need to sow that seed of a dream for them. They say the world is a stage and we are all players. That’s what this is.”The dream, for Giles Carrington of the England team, was music. He’s a B1 — totally blind thanks to a broken optic nerve. But he’s also an A Plus –at playing drums. He has done concerts, tours, cut a disc and has even modelled for a commercial: Sauza Tequila, the original Mexican tequila drink, with a catchline that goes, “You Don’t Need to See It to Believe It!”

Giles’ heightened sense of hearing is what is common to his music and his cricket. “But each is different,” explains Giles.“In cricket, you have to judge distances and locations, perceive where the ball might be. In music, you listen to it in its entirety. It’s not so focused.”

For many who became blind in later life, playing cricket is a reminder of familiar joys.

New Zealand’s Kevin Murray was a policeman in Melbourne when an automobile accident caused a metal object to fly straight at him. “As a child I played cricket for years in my mother’s backyard. So I thought, why don’t I give it another go.” And that was how Murray, another B-1, found himself batting, bowling and fielding for the honour of his adopted country.

His disability has brought Murray, compassion,understanding and tolerance. Qualities, he says with a wry smile, policemen are generally not known to have. And he’s still learning. “India beat us. They are a strong team. But we fought hard, and that’s what’s important.” Meanwhile, there’s also the excitement of discovering India, through its sounds, smells and the way its food tastes. Deena Moodley of the South African team — who incidentally happens to be the only Indian playing cricket for the blind in his country — couldn’t agree more.

“We lost to Pakistan the other day, but it was great encounter. We went down fighting all the way. That made the defeat almost as enjoyable as a victory” he says.

According to South African coach Dries Van Lil, the country began training players in this game only 18 months ago. “India has more experience in the game, and a talent pool of at least 2,000. The problem we face is to keep a team going through regular practice sessions. There is very little logistical support so far.”

This world series is only abeginning and the challenge really will be to keep it going. But so far it has been a promising beginning. Giles puts it this way, “I find cricket exciting, challenging, and great fun. It keeps me in shape — not just physically but mentally.”

Then he adds, quietly, “It’s been an eye-opening experience for me.”