Hawkes Bay Today
  • Hawke's Bay Today home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Havelock North
  • Central Hawke's Bay
  • Tararua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Gisborne

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Hawkes Bay Today

Hawke's Bay police win despite losing sight of the ball during blind cricket game

Hawkes Bay Today
23 Apr, 2018 12:00 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

A police team playing a game of blind cricket against a team from the Hawke's Bay Blind Sports Club. Photo /Ten One Magazine

A police team playing a game of blind cricket against a team from the Hawke's Bay Blind Sports Club. Photo /Ten One Magazine

A team of Hawke's Bay police officers lost sight of the ball during a recent blind cricket game.

A police team played a T20 game against a team from Hawke's Bay Blind Sports Club on April 8 at St John's College in Hastings.

They played a version of the game adapted for participants with impaired vision and the police team use ''sim specs'' which simulated the visual impairment of one of their opponents.

The game was a nail-biter, with the police team, of varying abilities, chasing down a 94-run target with just two balls to go.

The police team narrowly won getting 96/7 against the blind cricket team who posted 94/6.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Detective Steve Leonard organised the game after a suggestion from his wife Erin, who works for the Blind Foundation.

"It was awesome, an absolutely cracking day," he said.

"Everyone involved wants to do it again."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The sim specs gave the impression of looking through frosted glass, Leonard said.

"Not being able to see changes everything.

"You might be able to see the ball, then it moves and you can't see where it's gone."

A rematch is on the cards – and the blind team is keen to face other police opposition when the new season starts in September.

Blind cricket is open to men and women and is played throughout New Zealand and internationally.

It uses metal stumps and a plastic ball containing a bell to provide audible signals.

Batters are limited to 20 runs "and all bowling is Aussie-style, underarm," Leonard said.

While some of the more serious cricketers in the team carried them through, Leonard's innings lasted two balls.

"I got one hit and didn't run because I couldn't hear where the ball went. On the second ball I was bowled out."

The triumphant bowler was Mike Marsh, blind club president, and a former member of New Zealand's Blindcaps international team.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"We had a great day, we were rapt that these guys were prepared to put on those simulator glasses and give it a go."

The team used to play in the national blind cricket tournament but has decided on a more social approach.

Now they are keen for opposition, police and otherwise.

"I think Gisborne police are quite keen to have a crack at us," Marsh said.

"There are some teachers interested and some farmers from southern Hawke's Bay."

A trip to the South Island is also planned.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

- Contributed by Ten One Magazine

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Hawkes Bay TodayUpdated

NZ’s $800m new stretch of state highway opens to traffic

10 Jun 08:27 PM
Hawkes Bay Today

From motel owner to mayoral candidate: Steve Gibson vows to curb Hastings rate rises

10 Jun 08:12 PM
Hawkes Bay Today

Whiff of cannabis during traffic stop leads to drugs convictions for young mum

10 Jun 08:00 PM

Why Cambridge is the new home of future-focused design

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

NZ’s $800m new stretch of state highway opens to traffic

NZ’s $800m new stretch of state highway opens to traffic

10 Jun 08:27 PM

Just how important this highway is "cannot be overstated", project manager says.

From motel owner to mayoral candidate: Steve Gibson vows to curb Hastings rate rises

From motel owner to mayoral candidate: Steve Gibson vows to curb Hastings rate rises

10 Jun 08:12 PM
Whiff of cannabis during traffic stop leads to drugs convictions for young mum

Whiff of cannabis during traffic stop leads to drugs convictions for young mum

10 Jun 08:00 PM
16-year-old accepted as volunteer firefighter, puts out his first flames alongside dad

16-year-old accepted as volunteer firefighter, puts out his first flames alongside dad

10 Jun 06:00 PM
Clean water fuelling Pacific futures
sponsored

Clean water fuelling Pacific futures

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Hawke's Bay Today e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Hawke's Bay Today
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • What the Actual
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven CarGuide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP