Four Albury mates get together once a week at Bilson Park to bowl a cricket ball underarm.
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Mike Hamilton, Daniel Searle, Josh Campbell and Matt Kent are all legally blind and are representative cricket players for the ACT, since it’s logistically harder for them to play for the NSW team based in Sydney.
The four have been meeting regularly to train for the 33rd Australian National Blind Cricket Championships which started on Monday and run until January 7 in Melbourne.
All four have represented Australia in the past and will catch a train to the tournament on Saturday to make up the numbers on the South Australian twenty20 team.
Mr Hamilton said his fellow Albury players were a talented bunch for a smaller town.
“We’re a bit of an exception to the rule,” he said. “Dan has played in India, Matt went over earlier in the year for an India-Sri Lanka-Australia series … and Josh made his debut for Australia in a series against New Zealand,” he said.
“(The tournament) gives us an opportunity to do something different and meet a few different players ... and show the other states what we can do.
“Hopefully we make it to the finals.”
The Albury players will line-up in four games against Queensland, NSW, Victoria and a New Zealand side.
Mr Hamilton and Mr Kent will also put on the pads for the Australian A-grade team against the New Zealanders.
The pair have also been selected to play in an Australia versus England Ashes series which goes from January 22 to 31 in Adelaide and consists of five one-day matches.
Mr Hamilton said the word was the “Pommies” wanted to come down and steal the trophy back.
“I think they have a lot to prove,” he said.
“I'll be captaining a few of the games in Adelaide but I try not to get caught up in the psychology of who won the last one.”
Australia won the last series against England 2-1 in 2012.
The ball in blind cricket is full of ball bearings so the batsmen can hear it coming down the pitch.
