Daraine Luton, Staff Reporter
Daemion McLean (left) receives cricket gear from Teddy McCooke at the launch of the Jamaica Visually Impaired Cricket Association's six-a-side competition at the Insport boardroom last month. - JUNIOR DOWIE/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
THE SECRETARY General on the Vivalyn Latty-Scott-led Jamaica Visually Impaired Cricket Association (VICA), Daemion McLean, has never seen a cricket game.
In fact, he never liked cricket in his earlier years, having shown an inclination to the game for football. But this changed after he was hit by a serious bout of glaucoma, which robbed him of his sight at age 10.
As a student at the Salvation Army School for the Blind, his friends were diehard cricket lovers. And, as so often happens, he followed his friends and caught on to the game.
His love for the sport has grown tremendously since and despite the loss of sight. The 26-year-old is hell bent on seeing his vision of the West Indies playing in the blind cricket World Cup come to fruition.
McLean dreams of the day when cricket-loving Jamaicans will fill Sabina Park to watch the blind and visually impaired.
The Gleaner caught up with the University of the West Indies (UWI) student at his Taylor Hall residence and he shared both his love and vision for cricket.
Q: Were you always a sports person?
Daemion McLean: Yes. Not only did I listen to games on the radio, but I competed in house tournaments and Cub Scout meets. My first love was football, though. I remember having discussions about the 1986 World Cup. My bigger brother played for Herbert Morrison and he always spoke about Hector Wright and Seba and from there my love for the sport grew.
Q: What about cricket?
DM: Cricket became a part of me in 1988-89 when I moved to boarding school. Some of the youngsters liked it but I did not. The change came in a very exciting game against Barbados which Jamaica won with players like Marlon Tucker and Mark Neita it grabbed my attention from then.
Q: How were you introduced to blind cricket?
DM: It was an interesting scenario. When I was at boarding school we used to play the game, but it was quite different to the way it is played now. But, I would say it was really a dream that I and a couple friends shared which results in my involvement now. Three of us: Vivian Blake and Orrel Richards had the dream to start blind cricket. It got even brighter in 1995 when we heard about a blind cricket World Cup. Every region except the West Indies was represented and we saw this as an ideal opportunity to learn and play the sport here.
We heard about trips being made by Tim Guttridge from England, vice-chairman of the World Blind Cricket Council, to Barbados to start a West Indies blind cricket. They emailed the Jamaica Society for the Blind last May about the possibility of bringing the game here. That is how it started.
Q: Is there a future for blind cricket here?
DM: Most definitely. In the space of one year we have hosted two teams the World Blind Cricket Council team and the West Indies Cricket Committee team. We have also started our five-team tournament and the enthusiasm among the players is tremendous. We have done a lot but we still believe a lot more organisational work is there to be done; afterwards blind cricket will go places. One thing I am certain about is that we will not allow the tempo to die. Some time next year we aim to get a triangular series here in the Caribbean. We also hope to play the English team again and then concentrate on playing in the World Cup.
Q: What kind of reception do you get when you play?
DM: A fabulous one. People are in awe. They cannot believe what they are seeing.
Q: What is the hardest thing about playing blind cricket?
DM: For me, as much as it may seem simple, it is bowling. When you bowl, a lot a wides are given away coaches will tell you that they have a lot of difficulty to get the players to keep the ball straight.
Q: Which sporting personality do you admire most?
DM: Michael Jordan. He was one of those people who was competitive, yet humble. And, even if he showed any signs of being boastful, he always delivered. Although he was good at his game, he always keeps training and that makes him not only a great player but a great person.
Q: If you had sight for a day, which cricketer would you want to see in action?
DM: It would have to be either Brian Lara or Sachin Tendulkar. When you listen to how commentators describe their stroke play, it really lights up your imagination. If I could see, I would want to see both of them at the crease together.
Q: What do you think about the current state of West Indies cricket?
DM: It is a sad state of affairs which the administrators have contributed to significantly. There is no doubt that the talent has dried up, but they could have done more to give cricket a better face in the region. The academy is a joke. I have seen players that have gone there and there are no signs of them improving. Secondly, far more cricket needs to be played in the region. The sport here has lost its competitiveness and, as a result, it becomes easy for players to walk into the West Indies team.
Q: Do you think it can get back up any time soon?
DM: With the current crop of players we can be more competitive but we won't get back any time soon. We need to not only identify talent, we need to mould these talents. We also need to have regular 'A' team tours and treat this team as our second-string West Indies team.
