By Kirra Livingstone
GLASS House Mountains resident Chris Gould debuted for the Australian Blind Cricket team in the Blind Ashes, which the squad won the series 5-0.
Chris is legally blind and has a disease called retinitis pigmentosa (RP), which has gradually affected his vision since birth.
Although he has some vision, it is limited, similar to what he described as tunnel vision.
Chris said it was a proud moment for him when he was selected, as he believed he might have been to old to be considered.
“I guess a big thing for me with this Australian stuff was I was really sad for a while that I left it too late for cricket to reach that level,” he said.
“Reaching that level, finally, was a massive goal for me.
“I’m not the oldest player in the team but certainly not the youngest.”
It was a milestone win for the Australian side as it was the first time they won the Ashes in a number of years.
“It was great because it was a massive deal, we hadn’t won it in a while,” Chris said.
“It was huge for me as I couldn’t comprehend it as much as other players because it was my first Ashes.”
Chris played in the final match of the tour, and won the game for the Australian side.
“I didn’t think I was going to get the chance to bat but one of our batters got out so I got to bat,” he said.
“I only needed two runs to win the game, so I hit two not out and my strike rate is 200.
“It was certainly better than not batting at all.”
Chris grew up playing conventional cricket when he lived in Victoria as a kid.
However, once his vision started to deteriorate, he stopped playing at 17-years-old. In his early 30s, he started playing blind AFL.
While playing AFL, he was scouted by Cricket Australia to start playing blind cricket, which he started six years ago.
Chris moved to Queensland three years ago, and settled down in the Glass House Mountains in November 2023.
He is also passionate about inspiring legally blind kids to consider trying blind cricket, as there are pathways available to play professionally.