Gloucestershire Cricket stars get behind the Growlers!
25 June 2013
Gloucestershire stars Graeme McCarter, Cameron Herring and Matt Taylor are urging people to get behind the county’s visually impaired team.
The group recently met up with members of the Gloucestershire Growlers who are currently looking for new players, umpires, coaches and helpers.
Graeme said: “It was fantastic to meet the team and hear about some of the differences and similarities between their version of the game and the one that we play. I am not sure many of us would stand a chance against them!
“They are a really inspiring group and I would urge people to support them by giving up some time and getting involved in whatever way they can.”
The three players caught up with the Growlers squad ahead of a special introductory event on June 27 to encourage new players and volunteers to join the club. People will have the opportunity to meet the team and experience blind cricket – which involves a large ball filled with ball-bearings - from 6.30pm and 9.30pm at the team’s Upton St Leonards Recreation Ground base.
The team – the newest in the BCEW South and West development League – was formed in 2012, following a taster session with the Gloucestershire County Association for the Blind’s (GCAB) young person group, Outlook, which was supported by the Gloucestershire Cricket Board (GCB).
Outlook is also run by Growlers chairman Marc Gulwell who has always been a keen cricket fan. In partnership with GCAB and the GCB he has been the driving force behind the team.
He said: “When we held the first taster session only a few people turned up but from there it has grown to the point that we are at now where we have just completed our first league season.
“A lot of our players had never played cricket before joining the Growlers but we are open to everyone. We are a mixed team, with players ranging from their early 20s to their 60s and different levels of visual impairment - everyone is welcome. It is great for socialising, great for fitness and a lot of fun - to be a part of this group is fantastic.’’
The Growlers are currently in mid-table after the first half of their debut season. Their league includes teams from London, Hereford and Somerset and Berkshire.
In addition to supporting the team’s training sessions the Gloucestershire Cricket Board also helped find Growlers a home ground at Upton St Leonards Recreation Ground. They also secured a £6,000 grant to help pay for travelling costs and arranged for Marc and the team to give a demonstration of blind cricket during the interval of a Gloucestershire CCC match at Bristol last season.
GCB projects and programmes manager Chris Munden said: “It has been fantastic to see the progress the Growlers have made in such a short space of time. To see them go from nothing just over a year ago to where they now has been a real success story for cricket in Gloucestershire.
“Blind cricket is a fantastic sport and we hope more people will come and get involved with the Growlers whether as players, coaches, officials or volunteers.”
To attend the introductory evening on June 27 please contact Marc Gulwell at the Gloucestershire County Association for the Blind on 01242 221170 or marc.gulwell@glos-blind.co.uk
For more information on the Growlers visit their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/GVICCC and to find out more about blind cricket visit http://www.ecb.co.uk/development/disability-cricket/rules-and-regulations,1561,BP.html
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