Episode 13 of Noisy Balls sees me sit down with the VBCA Vice President Dan Pritchard.

Dan has been involved in blind cricket since 2008 and he certainly is extremely passionate about ensuring that as many people who are blind and visually-impaired have the opportunity of participating in blind and vi sport.

We explore Dan's life growing up, as well as the numerous blind cricket tournaments that Dan has been a part of, and this episode is all about ensuring that listeners to the show are aware that blind cricket, both with the Australian ball and the international ball, is very much alive and well down at Kooyong and that whether you are a current player or a past player, you are always welcome to come down and be a part of it all.

If you are interested in either playing with the Aussie ball or giving the twenty20 a try, here are some ways in which you can get involved:

• Email the VBCA current Secretary, Jodie Hunter-Wilson, at secretary@vbca.org.au
• Send a message through to the Victorian Blind Cricket Association Facebook Page
• If you are ready to sign up straightaway, head on over to the Play Cricket website and fill in your details on their online form
• Finally, if you want to play for one of the three specific clubs, those being Glenferrie Lions, Burwood Warriors or St. Pauls, search on Facebook for any of those clubs and contact them directly on their page and they will go about getting you registered.

A huge thanks to Dan for such an insightful interview and I wish you all the best as you go about breathing some life back into the VBCA and many congratulations for all the hard work you do each and every week to ensure that blind cricket continues to thrive in Victoria for many years to come.

Noisy Balls is proudly sponsored by the Victorian Blind Cricket Association and we appreciate the VBCA's support as we bring in a new dawn in blind cricket podcasting.
 
To Get In Touch with Noisy Balls:

• Shoot us an email to feedback@noisyballs.com and we will always respond and read your messages up on an upcoming show.
• Why not be a part of the conversation on the Noisy Balls Facebook Group
• and you can always follow us on the Noisy Balls Twitter Feed, where we will regularly update you with the goings on in blind cricket locally, nationally and internationally.
• To find out more about my other podcasting endeavours, I invite you to check out the Blind Tech Guys.

Support the show (https://pod.fan/noisyballs)

On episode 12 of Noisy Balls, I had an inspiring chat with a legend of the English game, Geoff Smith.

Geoff played a massive role in the agreement for the BBS Primary Club Cup Final to be played at the Nursery Ground at Lords, an arrangement that ran from 1992 until 2008. Most of his playing career was for London Metro and for Sussex Sharks, he played a big part in starting the latter club.

Geoff won the National League title and the BBS Cup during his playing career, doing so on many occasions. Geoff was a talented wicketkeeper batsman and played many internationals for Blind Cricket England And Wales.

After Geoff was inducted into the blind cricket hall of fame, he stated “I have such wonderful recollections about my playing days. It’s right that I was as much involved off the field as on it. As WBCC General Secretary I wrote the Core Documents (governing rules and playing rules etc) for WBCC with some help from ICC (when they were still based at Lord's). I took over from Tony Hegarty who handed me a carrier bag with his collection of bits of paper when I was elected General Secretary in New Delhi in January 2002.

The best working period for me as an official was with Tim Guttridge and Peter Donovan when I was General Sec, they were both very good and very easy to work with. My best playing moment for England was helping to get us home for our first victory against Pakistan in 2002. When I went in we needed 26 off 19 balls, amazingly and despite my ever present nerves, I hit my first ball for four! This surprised everyone especially me. We beat them twice that year an they went on to be world champions at the Chennai World Cup.

I played for thirty years, my favourite colleagues and friends were Heindrich, David Samuels and John Garbett.”

Thanks to Geoff for such an insightful chat and I appreciate you taking the time to pop on to this episode of the show.

Noisy Balls is proudly sponsored by the Victorian Blind Cricket Association and we appreciate the VBCA's support as we bring in a new dawn in blind cricket podcasting.
 
To Get In Touch with Noisy Balls:

• Shoot us an email to feedback@noisyballs.com and we will always respond and read your messages up on an upcoming show.
• Why not be a part of the conversation on the Noisy Balls Facebook Group
• and you can always follow us on the Noisy Balls Twitter Feed, where we will regularly update you with the goings on in blind cricket locally, nationally and internationally.
• To find out more about my other podcasting endeavours, I invite you to check out the Blind Tech Guys.

Support the show (https://pod.fan/noisyballs)

On episode 11 of Noisy Balls, I had the extremely enjoyable opportunity of chatting with someone that is certainly much loved and well known locally, nationally and internationally. I am of course talking about the brilliant blind cricket umpire Michael Clemens.

Michael has an impressive resume to his name, with some of his qualifications including Bachelor of Business (RMIT), Diploma of Financial Planning (Deakin University), Diploma of Education (LaTrobe University), Graduate Diploma of Accounting and Finance (Monash University), Graduate Diploma of University Teaching and Learning (RMIT), and Masters of Accounting and Finance (VUT).

Michael's many current and past portfolios include being a member of CPA Australia, director of TrainEd Consulting Group Pty Ltd, a registered tax agent, authorised representative of Integrity Financial Planners Pty Ltd, life member of the Victorian Blind Cricket Association, life member of the Carrum/Bonbeach Cricket Club, Victorian Blind Cricket Association delegate to Blind Sports and Recreation Victoria, financial advisor to Blind Cricket Australia, financial advisor to Loch Sport Golf Club Inc., former director and treasurer to the Caroline Chisholm Pregnancy Support Agency, and former director and treasurer for the Airport Golf Club Inc. (formerly the Tullamarine Country Club).

Michael shared with us his history in blind cricket, his days as a cricketer himself, as well as discussing how things were many years ago when he became a father to Damian Clemens, an exceedingly accomplished blind cricketer in his own right.

Michael, I appreciate you coming on to this episode of Noisy Balls and for so graciously giving up some of your valuable time in order to enlighten our listeners with your pearls of wisdom and having you on the show definitely made for a very memorable episode.

Noisy Balls is proudly sponsored by the Victorian Blind Cricket Association and we appreciate the VBCA's support as we bring in a new dawn in blind cricket podcasting.
 
To Get In Touch with Noisy Balls:

• Shoot us an email to feedback@noisyballs.com and we will always respond and read your messages up on an upcoming show.
• Why not be a part of the conversation on the Noisy Balls Facebook Group
• and you can always follow us on the Noisy Balls Twitter Feed, where we will regularly update you with the goings on in blind cricket locally, nationally and internationally.
• To find out more about my other podcasting endeavours, I invite you to check out the Blind Tech Guys.

Support the show (https://pod.fan/noisyballs)

On the first bonus episode of Noisy Balls, we welcome the President of the Victorian Blind Cricket Association back to the pavilion, Lindsay Heaven.

Lindsay popped on to the pod to update what has been going on with the VBCA board in terms of preparations for the upcoming season and also to let everyone know of the two grants that the team have applied for and successfully acquired and how this will effect those participating in the upcoming season.

We also conversed on the exciting Woolworths Cricket Blast program that Daniel Pritchard is setting up inconjunction with Rohail Akter from Cricket Victoria and how this will allow junior blind cricketers to get out on the park and develop their blind cricketing skills.

Thanks Lindsay for the update and we look forward to catching up in a few week's time with more news on what is going on at Kooyong and let's hope that we will all be playing cricket sooner, rather than later.

Noisy Balls is proudly sponsored by the Victorian Blind Cricket Association and we appreciate the VBCA's support as we bring in a new dawn in blind cricket podcasting.
 
To Get In Touch with Noisy Balls:

• Shoot us an email to feedback@noisyballs.com and we will always respond and read your messages up on an upcoming show.
• Why not be a part of the conversation on the Noisy Balls Facebook Group
• and you can always follow us on the Noisy Balls Twitter Feed, where we will regularly update you with the goings on in blind cricket locally, nationally and internationally.
• To find out more about my other podcasting endeavours, I invite you to check out the Blind Tech Guys.

Support the show (https://pod.fan/noisyballs)

On Episode 10 of Noisy Balls, we headed back over to the UK and had a thoroughly entertaining, but  exceedingly informative natter with Blind Cricket England & Wales wicket keeper Dan Field.

Dan has been an integral part of the Sussex Sharks VI cricket team for almost two decades and was picked to play for the UK men's VI cricket team back in 2006.

We chatted about many and varied subjects in this episode, from Dan's thoughts on playing for Sussex, to the highs and lows of being a part of the national side.

We even had time to ask Dan about his bowling prowess, and it may well surprise you, or perhaps not, that he has only ever bowled one over in the English colors and boy, what an over that turned out to be.

It was clear to me, and I am sure it will be to you after you take a listen to this episode, that Dan is a thoroughly entertaining individual who certainly holds playing VI cricket near and dear to his heart and I thank you Dan for taking the time to chat with us and the team wishes you the best of luck as you go about forging an extremely successful career in blind cricket.

Noisy Balls is proudly sponsored by the Victorian Blind Cricket Association and we appreciate the VBCA's support as we bring in a new dawn in blind cricket podcasting.
 
To Get In Touch with Noisy Balls:

• Shoot us an email to feedback@noisyballs.com and we will always respond and read your messages up on an upcoming show.
• Why not be a part of the conversation on the Noisy Balls Facebook Group
• and you can always follow us on the Noisy Balls Twitter Feed, where we will regularly update you with the goings on in blind cricket locally, nationally and internationally.
• To find out more about my other podcasting endeavours, I invite you to check out the Blind Tech Guys.

Support the show (https://pod.fan/noisyballs)

On this episode of Noisy Balls, I had the honour of speaking with Cricket Australia Diversity And Inclusion Specialist Aaron Dragwidge.

Aaron has been one of the driving forces behind Cricket Australia’s Sport For All initiative and, in particular, their rapidly growing disability inclusion programs.  He is transforming Cricket’s approach to the inclusion of people with disability and has a passion for inclusion and human rights.

Aaron has always been exceedingly passionate about inclusiveness for all disabled cricketers. “The National Cricket Inclusion Championships (NCIC) came about because we had three groups of cricketers with disabilities. Blind and low vision had national championships every two years, the Deaf and hard of hearing cricketers every four years, and cricketers with an intellectual disability didn’t have an opportunity. So, we brought it all under the one umbrella as a great celebration of cricket”.

Having been involved with putting together the NCIC championships, Aaron states “This is about celebrating ability and talent in cricket. Lots of people walk past the games and ask, “what’s this game?”, so it’s really fantastic to be part of that and seeing the impact that has in a broader sense in the community”.

Aaron believes that it’s really important to have sports at a national level to be inclusive. The impact that this has had on a number of players has been really huge. In a lot of cases it’s changed their lives and has allowed them to participate locally, nationally, and internationally.

Aaron wants to ensure that our great game keeps continuing to grow. “Anyone who is keen to get involved in cricket, no matter what your ability is, you should contact your local cricket club or go on to the PlayCricket website, And if you’re interested in being involved in the National Cricket Inclusion Championships, jump on to the National Cricket Inclusion Championships website".

I thank Aaron for joining me on this episode and for always being so accommodating with his time and I know that with all of his hard work and passion for disabled cricket, our game is definitely in very good hands for many years to come.

Noisy Balls is proudly sponsored by the Victorian Blind Cricket Association and we appreciate the VBCA's support as we bring in a new dawn in blind cricket podcasting.
 
To Get In Touch with Noisy Balls:

• Shoot us an email to feedback@noisyballs.com and we will always respond and read your messages up on an upcoming show.
• Why not be a part of the conversation on the Noisy Balls Facebook Group
• and you can always follow us on the Noisy Balls Twitter Feed, where we will regularly update you with the goings on in blind cricket locally, nationally and internationally.
• To find out more about my other podcasting endeavours, I invite you to check out the Blind Tech Guys.

Support the show (https://pod.fan/noisyballs)

On this episode of Noisy Balls, I had the most delightful conversation with Cricket Victoria's inclusion and participation officer, Rohail Akhtar.

Rohail has had a rather unusual life, starting in his younger years by living in Dubai, which is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai.

He then moved to Melbourne at a very young age and as you will find out, he has always had a great passion for cricket, both in playing the game, as well as coaching and mentoring his teammates to get the best out of themselves.

Rohail is a hard working individual who is passionate about his causes, particularly in the sporting arena. Rohail has accumulated an extraordinary amount of work experience which belies his young age, including working at various organisations such as Melbourne City FC, Cricket Victoria, South Morang Cricket Club, Special Olympics Victoria, Velocity Brand Management and through his internship at Inner Melbourne VET Cluster.

Rohail has developed skills which he believes will help him, including his ability to manage customers, as well as continuing to develop a high level of communication and interpersonal skills.

Rohail’s main goal is to build a career in the sports industry, particularly amongst his main interests of cricket and Australian Football.

Rohail takes pride in his reputation and experience within the industry, and believes that his hardworking manner provides tremendous value to the organisations he works for.

I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with Rohail and it's clear that he will do magnificently as Cricket Victoria's inclusion and development officer and I certainly do appreciate Cricket Victoria for allowing me to chat with Rohail and for permitting me to put this episode together.

Noisy Balls is proudly sponsored by the Victorian Blind Cricket Association and we appreciate the VBCA's support as we bring in a new dawn in blind cricket podcasting.
 
To Get In Touch with Noisy Balls:

• Shoot us an email to feedback@noisyballs.com and we will always respond and read your messages up on an upcoming show.
• Why not be a part of the conversation on the Noisy Balls Facebook Group
• and you can always follow us on the Noisy Balls Twitter Feed, where we will regularly update you with the goings on in blind cricket locally, nationally and internationally.
• To find out more about my other podcasting endeavours, I invite you to check out the Blind Tech Guys.

Support the show (https://pod.fan/noisyballs)

On this episode of Noisy Balls, I spoke with someone who will probably be well known to some of you, especially if you are residing in the UK or you know a little bit about UK vi cricket. My guest this week is Justin Hollingsworth.

Justin is currently studying and working at the University of East Anglia. As a part of his Sports Development course, he is able to work within the UEA Sports team as a sports ambassador.

He is currently the vice captain of the England Visually Impaired cricket team and he certainly takes this role extremely seriously.

Having played for the Warwickshire Visually Impaired Cricket Team prior to the side folding, Justin now captains the Metro side and hopes to be back out on the park next season.

One thing that I certainly did not know is that Justin has a keen passion for throwing the Javelin and hopes to be picked up by GB Para pathway sometime down the track.

I would like to Thank Justin for being such an enjoyable guest on this episode of the show and we wish you the best of luck as you go about fulfilling your dreams.

Noisy Balls is proudly sponsored by the Victorian Blind Cricket Associationand we appreciate the VBCA's support as we bring in a new dawn in blind cricket podcasting.

To Get In Touch with Noisy Balls:

• Shoot us an email to feedback@noisyballs.com and we will always respond and read your messages up on an upcoming show.
• Why not be a part of the conversation on the Noisy Balls Facebook Group
• and you can always follow us on the Noisy Balls Twitter Feed, where we will regularly update you with the goings on in blind cricket locally, nationally and internationally.
• To find out more about my other podcasting endeavours, I invite you to check out the Blind Tech Guys.

Support the show (https://pod.fan/noisyballs)