Green is the call as Dolphins take on Jumbos

The Semi-finals are here and the Nashua Dolphins remain unbeaten so far in the Standard Bank Cup. Support the Nashua Dolphins as they take on the Eastern Province Jumbos in the second leg of the Semi-finals at Kingsmead on Friday 1st February 2002. Play starts at 15h45 and the gates will open at 13h00.

The evening promises to be plenty of fun with lots of entertainment planned. For the adults there is a luxury car display, a Blind Cricket Demonstration as well as a evening of great cricket. To keep the little ones amused there will be the Kiddies entertainment area with face painting, the Barney Jump 'n slide (which is a jumping castle and slide), as well as lots of characters who will be handing out freebies, games and for those kids who join the MTN Dolphin Club there will be a free gift. Spectators, young and old are requested to wear green in support of the Nashua Dolphins.

In 1998 the first ever Blind Cricket World Cup was held in New Delhi, India. The competing countries were the seven member countries namely Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka. During this World Cup, South Africa played Pakistan in the Final and won. For South Africa it was a fantastic achievement because cricket for the blind only started in South Africa during 1997 with 45 active players. Since then the sport has just gotten stronger by the day and currently have 700 active players countrywide.

Blind Cricket has the same rules as conventional Cricket except for the fact that the bowler must bowl underhand and the ball has to make contact with the pitch before the one meter mark.

There are three levels of blindness, namely, B1 which is totally blind, B2 which is sensitive to light perception and lastly B3 which means that the person is able to see up to three meters in front of them. Each Blind Cricket team must be made up of four B1 players, three B2 players and four B3 players. It is imperative that the wicket keeper has the best sight in the team as he calls to the bowler and they bowl accordingly. The game is played with a hard plastic ball, which makes a sound like a rattlesnake and thus enables the cricketers to hear the ball.

The Natal Blind Cricket Association will be doing a demonstration at the Kingsmead Cricket Ground at the dinner break on Friday night during the semi-final of the Standard Bank Cup. Blind Cricketers will also be raising funds by raffling a cricket bat autographed by the Nashua Dolphins throughout the evening. The proceeds will go towards raising funds for their National Tournament which is to be held at Kearsney College from the 7 - 13 April 2002.

Tickets are available from the Stadium and prices are as follows:

Ground Admission: Adult: R20,00 Child: R6,00 Pensioner: R10,00
North/South Stand: R40,00
West Stand: R35,00
(The ticket office is open weekdays from 8am - 4:15pm)