Steve Bailey Report and Pictures of VI Cricket Tour of West Indies
uk woman visually impaired cricket team
Barbados tour 5th – 15th July 2018
18 visually impaired women with an age group range of 15-70 and 4 visually impaired coaches of which Steve Bailey (Dorset Dolphins coach and captain) was the head coach.
It was an early start on the Thursday morning at Gatwick by 8 ready for the flight at 11 on Virgin airlines, the aircrew on the flight were very helpful and attentive to all our needs on this 8 1/2 hour flight.
Friday was the first practice session where we met the West Indies players and coaches for the first time and had a 4 hour practice session. That night was the opening ceremony where we had welcome speeches and the national anthems.
Saturday was a free day for the girls to relax and go on trips whereas the coaches had a 2 hour meeting with the west indies coaches to finalise any details for the week.
Sunday was a joint 4 hour practice session where Steve Bailey ran the session with the help of 6 other coaches of which 5 were West Indies who said afterwards that they had learnt new things and all had a good time.
Monday was the first practice match held at Franklin Stephenson cricket ground with West Indies batting first and scoring 117 for 2 and in reply the England team scored 119 for 1. 1 nil to the uk.
Tuesday second practice match was at the Frank Worrell ground with England batting first and scoring 135 for 4 and in reply West Indies scored 104 for 6. 2 nil to the uk
Wednesday history being made as the first international visually impaired women game played.
The match was at Winward cricket ground with West Indies batting first and scoring 40 for 8 and in reply England scored 40 for 0 with Lois Turner and Amanda Large reaching the target in 3.5 overs. The team really up there game and all the hard work done in training over the last 3 years came through. 3 nil to the uk
On the Wednesday evening we were invited with the West Indies team to meet the British High Commissioner at the British Consulate where drinks and canapes were served and where we all had time to mingle with other guests that were there and promote blind cricket.
Thursday saw the first ever day/night match and it was played at the Briars Hill ground, with West Indies batting first they scored 149 for 1 and in reply England scored 125 for 7 thus meaning a win for the West Indies.The England team found this a difficult game having never played or trained under lights, so all the players had a go at some point in the game to experience this.
Friday saw the 2nd full international game and it was a day/night one, held at the Friendship ground West Indies batted first and scored 111 for 6 and in reply England scored 61 for 0 after 5 overs however due to 3 West Indies injuries they forfeit the match so meaning an overall score of 4 wins to the uk and 1 to the West Indies. Then followed a series of presentations to the players and a trophy was given to the uk team, and it was a very pleasant experience and an enjoyable time was had by all it was a once in a life time trip for some of the team, the coaches learnt a lot and the future is looking promising for the team.
If you are looking to get involved in vi cricket then please get in contact with Steve Bailey at Dorset Dolphins facebook page or e-mail shaddowb3@btinternet .combv bb
A BIG THANK TOU TO
BOURNEMOUTH. AND DISTRICT
CHESS
PLAYERS FOR THE SUPPORT
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August 5, 2018