Three years ago, lifelong cricket fan Chris Alderson lost his sight, but he's never lost his passion for the glorious game. Here he tells his story.

"Hi. My name is Chris. I’m 19 and only lost my sight 3 years ago, so I’m still getting used to life without sight. I have always loved cricket and used to play for a club side called Great Melton near to where I live. I have been to around 10 Test Matches in England and have been lucky enough to see centuries from the likes of Andrew Flintoff and Michael Vaughan.

As a huge cricket fan, I was really interested when I received an e-mail from British Blind Sport, informing of a blind cricket taster session for newcomers. I had a great time at the session and was subsequently put in touch with the Eastern Vipers. I now have 3 blind cricket matches under my belt and I’m really enjoying being part of a cricket team again.

I didn’t really have too many expectations of what playing blind cricket would be like. I just thought it might be something new and interesting to try. It soon became clear though, as someone who has played sighted cricket, that the rules are incredibly similar, except for the rules designed to help B1 cricketers, especially when they are batting. You still get all the banter and humour which goes with a sighted cricket team and all the nerves and excitement as the wickets start to fall. It’s also great to be part of a team which encourages everyone to get involved and doesn’t favour particular people. It’s great to be able to have that feeling of bat on ball again and hitting a really sweet shot for four.

Shot selection is similar to sighted cricket, in the sense that you would normally try and defend anything straight and only try and score runs when the bowler gives you some width. I found bowling slightly more difficult than batting as it can be difficult to aim the ball where you want to, and it doesn’t take much to bowl a wide. The larger ball also takes some getting used to, as it can be hard to grip, especially if the ball gets wet. As for the fielding, I find this the most difficult of the disciplines. The B1 cricketers field really close to the bat and it is easy to feel vulnerable. It is also quite hard to stop the ball unless it bounces as you can’t always hear it in time.

I would definitely recommend blind cricket to anyone with a visual impairment as it’s great to have good, friendly company whilst doing something you love. If you’re not completely convinced, I would urge you to give it a go and you might be very surprised."