Blind cricket is cricket adapted for players with visual impairments — played using an audio cricket ball containing ball bearings that rattle as it moves, with adapted fielding positions and rules that accommodate different visual classifications. Blind Cricket Australia governs the sport. Australia's national blind cricket team has competed at the World Blind Cricket Championships. This guide covers the key funding sources for blind cricket.
Blind Cricket Australia governs blind cricket:
- B1 (totally blind), B2 (partially sighted), B3 (partially sighted — less severe) classifications
- National competition events
- National team programme
- State associations and competition
Contact Blind Cricket Australia and your state association for access to funding and national programme guidance.
Blind Sports Australia governs sport for people with visual impairments:
- Blind cricket as a core discipline
- State blind sports associations fund competitions
Cricket Australia has potential interest in blind cricket development:
- Shared cricket culture and infrastructure
- Some community cricket grant programmes
Sport Australia may fund blind cricket through relevant disability sport pathways:
- Para-sport development
- Participation investment
State sport agencies fund disability sport including blind cricket:
- Equipment grants for clubs
- Development programmes
Gaming grants fund blind cricket clubs:
- NSW ClubGRANTS: Disability sport development
- State gaming trusts: Equipment and programme grants
Gaming grant applications for blind cricket:
- Audio cricket balls (ball with internal rattling balls bearings) — $50–$150 each; much more expensive than standard cricket balls
- Protective equipment (helmets, pads — adapted for visual impairment)
- Tactile pitch markers
- Sound-based fielding markers
- Training aids for various classifications
Blind cricket uses adapted equipment:
- Audio cricket ball: Ball containing ball bearings that rattle — $50–$150 each (expensive compared to standard cricket ball)
- Adapted wickets: Larger stumps in some formats
- Tactile markers: For pitch and boundary orientation
- Sound devices: Directional sound for fielding positions
- Protective equipment: Standard cricket pads, helmets, gloves
Audio balls are a recurring consumable cost — they wear out faster than standard balls and are expensive. This is a strong equipment grant application.
Three classifications:
- B1: Totally blind — specific batting and fielding rules
- B2: Partially sighted — adapted rules
- B3: Partially sighted, less severe — adapted rules
Teams mix classifications with specific rules governing each class's contribution.
Disability-specific funders:
- Guide Dogs Australia: Support for vision-impaired sport
- Vision Australia: Services and community for people with visual impairment
- NDIS: Sport participation for eligible individuals
- Disability foundations: Equipment and programme grants
Junior development:
- Youth players: Introduction to blind cricket for young people with visual impairment
- Schools for vision impaired: Physical education including blind cricket
- Youth development: Building the blind cricket pathway
Women's participation:
- Women's blind cricket: Growing nationally and internationally
- Disability sport inclusion: Female players in blind cricket clubs
Strong applications demonstrate:
- Participant numbers: Players by classification (B1, B2, B3), age, and gender
- Equipment: Audio balls as primary ongoing cost — consumption rate justified
- Visual impairment community: Connection to Blind Sports and VI community
- National team pathway: Connection to Blind Cricket Australia national team
- Junior development: Youth blind cricket pathway
- Community access: Open programme for people with visual impairment
- Organisation governance: Affiliation to Blind Cricket Australia and state body
Tahua's grants management platform helps blind cricket clubs manage grant applications across Blind Cricket Australia, disability funders, state sport agencies, and gaming trusts, tracking equipment, visual impairment inclusion, and participation outcomes.