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“The game is so important” – The rise of Somerset VI CC
As part of Disability History Month, we will be publishing a number of articles focusing on Somerset Disabled Cricket Club, Somerset VI Cricket Club and the great work that Somerset Cricket Foundation carry out.
Today we turn our attention to Somerset Visually Impaired Cricket Club.
Somerset Visually Impaired Cricket Club compete in the BCEW National League against eight counties. Somerset VICC play their home games at Wombats CC in Bishops Lydeard.
Matches are played with a larger ball (size of a handball) that makes a sound and the wickets are larger. Each player much be registered blind or partially sighted. Each player is then placed into one of four sight categories. The team is then made up of different sight categories, with no more than two players from the high partial category.
We caught up with Somerset’s Kathryn Jelfs-White, who not only played a key role in the creation of Somerset VICC but has also captained her country.
She began by explaining how Somerset VICC came into existence.
“Along with a group of friends, I was invited to attend a training session at Taunton Vale by a local sight loss charity and Blind Cricket England & Wales, which is the organisation that governs the domestic game. This was in February 2010. It was the first time that I’d ever heard of this version of cricket. I didn’t know that VI cricket existed. I was 28 by the time I got involved, so I wish I’d heard about it earlier because I missed out on a big chunk of playing time. That’s why I urge youngsters to get involved as soon as they can.
“It came about because there weren’t really any teams in the South West. They were predominantly London-based or in the Midlands. The BCEW felt that it was time that the South West got involved so they came down to Taunton. There were about a dozen of us there, and although I’d never ached so much as I did the day after, I loved it because I hadn’t done any competitive sport for at least 12 years. After the session we decided to form a committee, start a club and get into a league.
“Within a couple of months, we’d got the ball rolling, were having more regular training sessions and we joined the development league the year after.”
How supportive have Somerset County Cricket Club and Somerset Cricket Foundation been?
“From the very start, the Somerset Cricket Foundation, or Cricket Board as it was called back then, got on board and offered to help with providing coaches and venues for both training and matches. They also helped to spread the word and get more publicity out there so that we could get more people involved. We had about 12 players to start with and knew that we needed to engage with local schools and youth groups to help find more VI players to join us.
“The Club and the Foundation have been enthusiastic from the start, and we could never have developed as quickly as we did without their support. We won the first few competitions that we entered quite convincingly, and we wouldn’t have been able to do that without the coaching, facilities and equipment that were provided. They also helped to provide advice and support when it came to getting started and sustaining what we had.
“Getting to do demonstrations on the outfield during Somerset games is great. To be able to go out there in front of a crowd who are paying attention is amazing. It’s nice that they are genuinely surprised and impressed by some of the skills on display. The first time we did it we were pretty nervous and were worried that everyone would be in the bar because it was the lunch break, but there was real engagement. People were asking questions afterwards and were genuinely interested. Playing on the outfield is an amazing experience too and it’s a really good way to help raise our profile.”
What does cricket mean to Kathryn?
“As I mentioned previously, I came into the game late because I didn’t even know that it was an option. I just didn’t know that I could play an adapted version. What started off as something to fill part of the weekend has become something that has enabled me to visit countries that I never thought I would get to go to and has opened up access to a whole new group of friends. I’ve even been able to play at Lord’s, and it’s things like that that I didn’t think would be possible.
“The England VI team was always supposed to be a mixed team, but no woman had ever actually played for the team and about five years after Somerset was formed it was decided that there should be a UK-wide women’s development team. I was involved in that from the start and eventually we got to go on tour to Barbados in 2018. That was another amazing opportunity that a lot of us would never have thought would be possible.
“Last year, the World Blind Games was staged on home soil and cricket was involved for the first time. The ECB helped to put together an England Women’s team for the tournament, which was great.”
Has she been surprised by how the game has grown since the team’s creation?
“The progress over a relatively short space of time has been immense,” she said. “We now have four internationals in our side, players have played all over the world, and we’ve got players in the team from all across the South West.”
How much of an impact does VI cricket have on those involved?
“I’m biased so I would say that the VI team is hugely important within the region. It’s lovely to hear from people what a positive impact cricket has had on their lives. The game is so important for things like social inclusion, and it gives a lot of people something to get out of bed for!
“Interest is always growing, and we hope that we can generate a feeder development team so that we can enter more competitions and spread the word further. A lot of people put a lot of work in on the field and that effort is replicated off the field as well. Just ask the staff at Wombats about their bar sales!
“It’s not just about the cricket, it’s also about establishing those wider connections. Team sport is hugely important when it comes to things like personal development and social skills, and this is such an amazing community to be a part of. Cricket is great for your physical and mental wellbeing and there’s certainly an element of there being something for everyone.”
What would Kathryn like to see happen next?
“Id just like to see an increase in awareness and for us to make ourselves more visible, if that’s not a terrible pun! There is a pan-disability league which is being televised now and it’s so important to get the message out there that there are all these different forms of cricket that anyone can play. There literally is something for everybody when it comes to cricket.
“We need to spread the word and get more youngsters involved. It’s important that we engage with the next generation and that people see VI cricket as a good sport to watch.”
For more information on Somerset VICC follow the link below:
For more information on Somerset Cricket Foundation click below:
