Funding, travel barriers threaten blind cricket access in Caribbean

Visually-impaired persons across the Caribbean are facing growing challenges in accessing structured developmental and recreational opportunities, with officials warning that limited funding, high inter-island travel costs, and declining participation numbers are threatening long-term inclusion efforts in the Region.
The concerns were raised during a discussion on “Disability and You”, where Blind Cricket West Indies Chairman Kci Ward-Ryan and Director Stevenson Evelyn outlined structural challenges affecting the development of blind cricket, which they described as one of the few organised platforms available for visually-impaired persons to participate in structured activity.

Evelyn, who has been involved since the inception of the sport in the Region, said the initiative began in Barbados in 2003 following engagement between local disability advocates and visiting cricket development figures from the United Kingdom.
“Blind cricket started in Barbados back in 2003 officially as a result of a conversation between the then President of the Barbados Council for the Disabled, the former executive officer of the British West Indian Airways back then and some Englishmen who came down to visit Barbados and they were involved in disability cricket in the United Kingdom and as a result of that initial conversation, then structures started being put in place,” he said.
He noted that what began as a single introduction match quickly evolved into a regional development initiative, with Barbados taking the lead role in expanding participation across the Caribbean.
“So, in 2003 we had the first introduction to blind cricket, our English team came down and we played a celebrity cricket match in our famous Queen’s Park… and as a result of that, blind cricket took over, Barbados was tasked then with the responsibility of sharing the game,” Evelyn said.
Officials said that while early expansion reached several territories, sustained growth is now being constrained by logistical and financial limitations.
“One of our major struggles is the lack of funding and airfare,” Evelyn said, explaining that unlike larger cricket nations, regional teams face significant difficulty transporting players between territories for training and competition.
Ward-Ryan said the situation was further complicated by the amateur status of the programme in the Caribbean compared to other regions where blind cricket is professionally structured.
“It is an amateur sport in the Caribbean. But outside is bigger, a lot, lot bigger,” he said, noting that countries such as India and Pakistan operate structured domestic leagues and provide financial support for athletes.
He pointed to India as the leading force in blind cricket development, citing its population size and institutional backing.
“Coincidentally, as in conventional cricket, it is India because they have the numbers and cricket is almost second nature to every Indian… they have won all the global titles so far for the last couple of years,” Ward-Ryan said.
The officials also highlighted that demographic changes and improved healthcare systems in parts of the Caribbean are contributing to a shrinking pool of younger participants.
“The average age in most of the teams throughout the Caribbean is 40,” Ward-Ryan said, adding that improved early detection and treatment of visual impairment is reducing the number of new entrants into the sport.
Evelyn said this was particularly evident in Barbados, where early medical intervention has reduced the number of persons developing severe visual impairment later in life.
“Over time within Barbados, our players are aging out… and in terms of cricket, then we may have to look at… maybe part of an OECS [Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States] team,” he said.
To address declining numbers and logistical constraints, officials are now proposing structural changes, including a potential franchise-based system that would allow players from across the Region to be grouped into teams regardless of nationality.
“I was floating the idea around the Caribbean that we might have to go to the franchise system. Whereas we pull up all the players throughout the Caribbean, and we distribute them towards about four or five teams,” Ward-Ryan said.
Despite the challenges, both officials stressed that continued support from Governments, Private Sector stakeholders and local communities remained critical to sustaining opportunities for visually-impaired persons.
“Even with corporate sponsorship, even if you can’t do it on the West Indies level, you can still help your local organisations… Little goes a very, very long, long way,” Ward-Ryan said.
The officials also renewed calls for greater regional cooperation to improve mobility and access, arguing that transportation remained one of the biggest barriers to inclusion.
“You don’t want to see it as a charity, but you’re creating opportunities for the empowerment of persons with disabilities in general,” Evelyn said.
They added that without sustained investment and structural support, programmes aimed at empowering visually-impaired persons risked stagnation despite their social importance across the Caribbean.