Last weekend Surrey Women's Cricket star, Sue Hobkinson, visited Greenacre School for Girls to support their 24 hour cricket match, in aid of visually impaired cricket.

When Greenacre School heard about visually impaired cricket, a decision was made to help raise both money and awareness for the sport. After a lot of deliberation the school decided upon a 24 hour cricket match and began searching for support and sponsorship.

A team of 17 girls and two teachers, Mrs Wood; Head Teacher, Mr Coetzer; the girls’ Coach, and Andy Dalby Walsh, a current member of the England visually impaired cricket team, began the match on Friday 2 February at 4pm.

Surrey's Jonathan Batty played some visually impaired cricket at the Guildford festival last summer.

Throughout the 24 hours, many of the girls entered into the spirit of the event by batting with their eyes closed. In doing so they fully appreciated the talent and bravery of visually impaired cricketers, particularly when they watched Dalby Walsh, who not only managed to hit the majority of the deliveries but also ran between the wickets brilliantly.

Everyone managed to have a go at bowling the ball, which differs from a normal cricket ball in the way that it is larger and has ball bearing within it to make a noise.

The skills and enthusiasm shown by Dalby Walsh had a lasting impression on the girls, even after he had left, inspiring the cricket to go on all through the night, with at least three people playing at any one time.

It was the arrival of special guests, including Surrey’s Hobkinson, that kept the girls’ spirits high, allowing them to reach their goal of 24 hours of non-stop cricket.

The girls of Greenacre school are now planning to have a fixture against a team of visually impaired cricketers next summer, which will act as another great opportunity to bring yet more awareness and funding for the sport. In the meantime though, they are collecting the money earned for their fantastic effort.

Everyone at Surrey County Cricket Club wishes to congratulate Greenacre School on all of their efforts at the weekend.

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