By Paul Toplis,
As well as the planned Blind Ashes trip to Australia this summer and the possible UK Women’s Team International Series in August, other international blind cricket is now being played as the pandemic eases.
South Africa had a winless tour of Pakistan in early March; where the hosts won both the ODI and T20 series 3-0.
This was followed by a T20 tri-series at Skyland University Cricket Ground in Sharjah, between Bangladesh, India and Pakistan. Bangladesh did not win in the group stages so the final was between India and Pakistan.
Pakistan won the toss and batted first, finishing their innings with two sixes to reach 216 for 3. In reply despite a tournament top score of 91 from 66 balls for opener Sunil Ramesh, India could only score 158 for 9. So Pakistan won the match by 58 runs and hence the series.
Meanwhile news from the 23rd Annual General Meeting of World Blind Cricket Ltd, attended by representatives from 10 member countries which was held virtually on January 29th, was that Cricket Association for the Blind in India will host the Third T20 World Cup for the Blind in several cities across India in November 2022.
Many nations are also preparing for the IBSA World Games,where cricket is included in the games for the first time with both a men’s and a women’s tournament. Hosted by British Blind Sport the World Games take place in Birmingham from 19th-27th August 2023.