Funds call for love of the game

OVER the past few months, Tecoma’s blind cricketer Daniel Pritchard said he’s lost confidence in moving around town thanks to the degeneration of what is left of his limited sight.
But nothing stops this 19-year-old from doing what he loves most – playing cricket.
Pritchard has recently returned victorious from the 32nd Biannual National Blind Cricket Championships which were played in Adelaide from 29 December to 7 January.
Pritchard, along with 13 other blind and vision impaired athletes from around Victoria made up the squad that competed against South Australia, New South Wales, Queensland and the ACT in single round robin 40/40 and T20 competitions.
It was Daniel’s second National Championships after first competing in Brisbane in 2010/11.
The Brisbane Championships marked eight years of straight wins for Victoria as well as the inauguration of the T20 series.
“Adelaide was never going to be an easy competition for us,” Pritchard said.
“We lost one of our openers and our strike bowler to Queensland while our other opener retired from the game.”
Queensland defeated Victoria in the final of the 40 over competition by 30 runs after the match was reduced to a 20/20 due to rain.
“It wasn’t a great feeling for us losing to Queensland particularly with the T20 competition still to go.
“Their batting attack was very top heavy and suited the shorter format,” he said.
For the first time in 10 years, Victoria was rated as the underdog going into a final.
Once again, Queensland was the opposition for the T20 showdown.
As expected, Queensland started strong in its chase but lost its top four early on.
By the 10th over, Queensland was only in the low 80s.
It was eventually bowled out in the 19th over ironically 30 runs short of its target.
The tournament also doubled as a selection camp to determine who would represent Australia in its upcoming tour of Sri Lanka and India later this year.
“I was part of the side that took home the Ashes in 2012 as well as the squad that went to the world cup of the same year so I hope to also make this next series.”
Blind cricketers in Australia are not financially supported and must self-fund in order to represent their country at international events.
This differs from other countries that financially support their blind cricketers.
“This particular tour looks like it will cost approximately $3000.
“If I am unable to find the funds, I will have to withdraw from the tour altogether.”
Daniel was born with a degenerative eye condition which has claimed all sight in his left eye as well as a majority of sight in his right eye.
“Over the past few months, I’ve lost a lot of clarity which has affected my confidence in moving around independently particularly around town with the added noise and confusion of blocked footpaths and construction machinery which I had to walk past on a daily basis in order to travel to school.”
Cataract surgery has been scheduled for Daniel later this month to assist in restoring his clarity.
“The difference has really impacted on the way I play cricket.”
For more information about blind cricket in Victoria, visit the Victorian Blind Cricket Association’s website at www.vbca.org.au.