If I were asked to name any group of people I admire above any other it is the blind. When ever I see someone using a white stick to guide themselves to their place of work in total blindness I am amazed at their ability to live such normal lives with a disability that I cannot comprehend.
Now it is well known that when someone is deprived of their senses they then find their other senses become more finely tuned, with smell and hearing becoming far more sensative as the brain develops these areas. And there can be no greater example of this than Dean du Plessis, the blind Ximbabwean cricket commentator.
Dean du Plessis uses his amazing hearing from stump microphones and can detect the area of the bat that the ball hit, he can hear the unique way that players grunt, moan or excitely shout to the ball they have hit, and is then able to use this in his commentary.
I could go on, but I would suggest that you listen to the story of Dean du Plessis on the BBC Iplayer in the next four days before the programme is removed. He really is a remarkable man and somone I admire.
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Andrew Flintoff considered to be one among the best all rounder of all times has reiterated his earlier stand on retirement decision. With Australia dominating the fifth Ashes Test which will be a deciding game, there were rumors that Flint off may reconsider his decision.
Flintoff had earlier made up his mind to retire from Test cricket after the current Ashes series, citing the frequent injuries as the reason is firm in his stand. He however did not rule out the possibility of playing four day cricket at national level as a part of Lancashire team. However the eminent all rounder will be continuing playing cricket as far as fifty over game and twenty-twenty version are concerned. Flintoff is a part of IPL Chennai Super Kings team.
I have absolutely zero interest in cricket, but this is still and incredible story - thanks for pointing it out.
John Arlott would have approved of du Plessis I am sure.
A pity that there is no award suitable to be given him in Arlott's name.
My brother heardt his on Radio Four and altered me to it. It really sounds like a joke until you hear the interview.
Shane Warne – The best bowler Australia has ever produced has opened up his mind to the media. He exposed his discontent regarding umpires. According to the ace spinner barring a few exceptions like Simon Tauter and ASAP Rauf other umpires went awry in terms of performance .Expressing disappointment that the standard of umpiring has deteriorated to the worst extent in the past twenty years of time he opined that though umpiring was a hard job, the performances of the umpires in the Ashes series had been consistently so ordinary. As far as Warne is concerned umpire Billy Bowden whom he expected to deliver correct judgments was also not consistent in performing his duty.
The spinner repents that there are too many instances of such bad judgments, which is increasingly becoming a cause of concern. He directly made a mention of names of umpires Daryl Harper and Billy Bowden, accusing them to be adamant in not confessing their wrong judgments. He also tried to strengthen his claim by mentioning that several players were not having a good opinion about those umpires in their minds. Warne insisted that the umpires should maintain a friendly attitude towards the players by shedding their high-handed attitude Warne also expressed his view repetitively that fifty over match should be withdrawn once for all as if such a change is brought about it would enable the players to spend more time with their families and relieve them from exhaustion.
Soured bats for Dravid On seeing the above title do not think that Soured Gangly has given up his decision to quit from all the versions of the game of cricket and is back in the scene. E mean to say that Soured, nicknamed as ‘Dada’ by the fans has hailed the decision of the selection committee to bring back Rahall David and thereby proving that only form was the problem associated with senior players and age had nothing to do with performance. Sourav expressed hope that the right hander would fare well in the upcoming tri-series. For the past one year Rahu l Dravid – ‘ The wall’ had been away from the one day format of the game. Sourav tried to strengthen his contention by citing the inclusion of Nehra as another example. Sourav’s statement assumes significance in this scenario as we find the three batsmen Laxman, Dravid and Sachin who are at mid thirties of age, delivering a consistent good performance.
Five players who were part of the squad that defeated West Indies in the latter’s soil failed to earn a place in the newly announced squad. Dines kart hick was lucky to be included as the last man replacing the recovering Sehwag. The same squad will be retained for both the traceries (in which Srilanka and Newzealand are other participants) and the following Champions trophy to take place in South Africa. Suresh Raina- A player who had established his capability many a time missed out previous tournaments due to a broken thumb has recovered completely. He is back in the squad. Selectors have shown mercy on the other player Yusuf pathan.
Like Soho Politico, I too have zero interest in cricket, but found it fascinating lsitening. Vijay Anand, this isn't about cricket in general, it's about a blind man who has overcome that to become a cricket commentator.
I listened to this in the car one morning. Fantastic interview. Does anybody remember the music band he said he enjoyed. They played it briefly on the radio. I thik it started with a "S"?
I too heard Dean du Plessis on the radio and think he has an incredible and inspirational story. I would like to interview him for a magazine article, but have had no luck tracking him down - does anyone have any ideas how I can get hold of him?
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