'Long time coming': NSW Women's Blind cricket team prepare for historic first

Having only previously participated in intra-squad exhibition matches, the NSW Women's Blind cricket team will play Victoria in three games during January's six-day event in Ballarat, their first standalone competition against a rival state. 

"We've trained for the last three years with the goal of having our own female division at NCIC," coach Danielle Chivers said. 

"They've worked so hard, and we're lucky enough to have a full squad now to be able to compete. 

"The team can't wait to get out and show everyone that we have the depth of players to make it a great competition." 

Chivers was introduced to the NSW Blind cricket program when her club, Northern District, played a friendly against the state's blind team in 2022. The Northern District players wore makeshift glasses to mimic the visual impairments of their opponents, who have varied vision levels. 

Following the match, NSW blind cricket coach Jason Stubbs asked Chivers if she would be interested in joining the team's coaching set-up. 

"We had all these female players who didn't have any female role models in coaching positions. It was only male coaches," Chivers recalled. 

"He asked if I was interested in learning about coaching blind cricket, and I said, 'Sure, why not?'" 

Coaching blind cricket understandably didn't come naturally to Chivers, who was in her late teens at the time. Teaching blind cricketers the nuances of bowling and batting without visual aid or demonstration is a challenge she's continuing to learn. 

"When I speak, I use my hands a lot, and I just expect that people can watch and pick it up," she said. 

"Whereas coming into blind cricket, how do I tell someone who has never been able to see how to bowl a ball? Because the action is very unnatural. 

"It's tough, and I still make mistakes in how I try and explain things, but it gets easier." 

Chivers has been coaching blind cricket for three years, having stepped in as the NSW team's head coach when Stubbs was unavailable, becoming the first woman to take on the role. The 22-year-old has been recently appointed as assistant coach of the Australian women's blind team.  

Although the 2027 NCIC will be the first edition of the tournament to feature a blind women's division, she hopes the program will grow to the point where each of the six states can enter a women's blind team, creating a fully-fledged competition. 

"Women haven't always been given the opportunity to bowl as many overs or bat high up the order because there are so many strong males within the competition," Chivers explained. 

"So, giving (the women) a platform where they can actually own this space and they can do everything within their own competition is crucial for their development and getting the opportunity to play as much cricket as possible." 

Samantha Hall, who this week was appointed the inaugural captain of the NSW women’s blind cricket team, lives with Usher Syndrome, which leads to hearing loss and retinitis pigmentosa, an eye condition that causes tunnel vision. 

While most people possess 180-degree vision, Hall's has reduced to five per cent since she first started experiencing symptoms in her thirties. 

Hall's brother, who has the same condition, introduced his sister to blind cricket in 2023, and she was initially hesitant to get involved. 

"At first I thought, 'No way, I couldn't do that,'" she recalled. 

"But once I actually met the community and the people in it, that was it. I was drawn in from that." 

Now, Hall is not only a respected leader in the state team, but she also serves as Secretary of the NSW Blind Cricket Board. While she also plays blind tennis, the social aspect of a team sport keeps her coming back to cricket. 

"When I'm with the blind cricket team, that's where I just feel like I don't even have my eye condition, like I forget all about it," she said. 

Hall represented Australia at the 2023 ISBA Games in Birmingham, where the national women's team defeated hosts England but lost the final against India. However, like many of her teammates, she's incredibly excited for the opportunity to represent her state in a women's competition at the NCIC. 

"It's been a long time coming," she said. 

"We want to show off and represent what we can actually do. 

"It's fun playing with the guys, but I think it's really important that the women have their own squad and are able to showcase what we can actually do and what skills that we have." 

India continues to lead the way in blind cricket, boasting a powerhouse women's team that's on another level compared to other nations. It's a lofty ambition, but Chivers wants Australia to produce a women's blind cricket team that can challenge the mighty Indians. 

"I want to be competing at that level and beating them in World Cups," she declared. 

The 2027 NCIC runs in Ballarat from January 10 to January 15.