Talking Vision 657 Week Beginning 26th of December 2022

Published Dec 27, 2022, 11:00 PM

We look back on the year in this week's show with a couple of interviews from earlier in 2022.

It's a sporting theme this week to tie in nicely with the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne as well as the recent Blind Cricket T20 World Cup, as you'll hear from Steffan Nero who Sam caught up with after he hit a triple century mid year in Brisbane.

You'll also hear once more from Jess Gallagher, as Sam caught up with the Commonwealth Games gold medalist in cycling after she returned from the Games this year in Tokyo.

From Vision Australia. This is talking vision. And now he's your host. Sam Colley.

Hello, everyone. It's great to be here with you. And for the next half hour, we talk matters of blindness and low vision. Welcome to the special holiday edition of Talking Vision, where we look back at the best of 2022 and the people of interest we've had the great pleasure of chatting with over the past 12 months. This week it's a bit of a sporting flyover as we chat with blind cricketer Stefan Nero. Very relevant as the Boxing Day test kicks off this week in Melbourne, as well as the Blind T20 Cricket World Cup, which kicked off a few weeks ago. You'll also hear once again from Commonwealth Games gold medallist Jess Gallagher as she caught up with me earlier this year after getting back from the games in Tokyo. So please enjoy my conversation with Stephan Nero. Followed up with Jess Gallagher on this week's episode of Talking Vision. Up again the interview with Stephan by asking about his record breaking innings of 309 not out, which he set earlier this year up in Brisbane versus New Zealand.

Are you still crazy in all things and it's still sinking in? You know, obviously when I woke up that day to play, I didn't expect to reach that amount of runs and break that record. So it definitely is something that, you know, I'll remember for the rest of my life.

But it didn't come completely from nowhere. I was on the stand. You'd already been in quite a bit of form prior to the 309.

No, definitely not. In those first ODI, it played out four years and obviously ODI is a completely different ball game to our usual T20 cricket. We never play ODI cricket at all at all. And so obviously very interesting to see how as a team and also individually myself, how we will go in an ODI format because it, it does take a lot out of the body as well, especially in the camp like cricket where the run rate in scoring the run rate is typically much higher than you would see in other cricket.

And stuff on. People may be interested in hearing about blind cricket itself and perhaps how it compares with the cited variety people may be familiar with.

Yes, So so playing cricket obviously is played with a with a plastic ball, which pitch rattles. I think I have one right here, actually. So it sounds like that, if you can hear that.

Okay. Yeah. Now that that came through loud and clear. Yep.

Yeah, Yeah. So it sounds like that. So obviously the ball is bowled underarm so when the bowler, before they start their run up, they ask the batsman if they're ready and obviously that's because they're ready, although they're not ready and in their delivery strike when they release the ball, the bowler has to say why. So the batsman knows. And so and you know, you have all the usual rules. Obviously they'll be caught, you know, bowled as well. But the big difference is, is in terms of the cricket teams, they have a lot of players typically have or B three which see up to 10% vision. You have three, B two players who have up to 5% vision and you have 4b1 players who are basically totally blind. And so obviously you have a different, obviously different thought from the field and as well and obviously different roles as Joe Kennedy goes. So typically in a T20 match, B one has to bowl at least eight overs out of the 20. So they're obviously very, very important. And also when they hit the ball specifically, if they want to have a runner, they hit the ball. And, you know, it's recorded as one that would actually be two runs. So they run the double run, you know, to obviously make sure they're, you know, to support them as well and, you know, for their contributions as well, because obviously is very hard to be ab1 batsman as well as playing cricket. So and that's typically how it changes. But yes, there's a big rule out there. Rule changes some of the mainstream cricket that we all obviously watch on TV.

And mechanics wise, when I was watching some of the blind cricket matches are seeing the the running between wickets. So what sort of safety components come in to that to make sure people stay in the proper areas and there aren't any collisions or anything like that.

So typically when the runners communicate, it is usually a lot of they communicate quite a lot. You know, like typically in Central station considerations, you know, obviously being in the sport, just, you know, you can't account for everything. But typically when they're running just off the pitch, there's no one usually just in front of your there's not one digit that walks into that zone. And most people are obviously usually, you know, quite careful about how they go about things. You know, obviously, you know, they're competitive and aggressive when against the ball. But, you know, no one wants to have a cop back to the face when they're running, you know, when they're trying to bowl. So that's typically how and there's usually that actually a reasonable is there a exclusion zone so so around the they can't be someone in like within five metres around a five metre circle or a radius around the back. They can't be anyone in that zone. So obviously the ball flies off the bat, hit someone in the head, you know, and if you just off that circle you have to have a helmet. So if it's just little things here and there, but as I said previously, you can't account for everything. And obviously there is some degree that, you know, there might be some and, you know. Might be some some risk involved that usually you know, most most if not all players are very careful about how they do things as well.

And with some regards to the fielding, that's also underarm as well, I understand.

So typically so the fielding is a combination of what obviously will occur to throw the ball in play around and underarm. But most of the time, usually, usually wicketkeepers or bowlers will ask the balls be thrown in at the board about or get that the keeper or the ball or anyone need a bit of. And this would be, you know obviously for safety reasons as a thought you can't have people just wanting the ball and you know, just chucking the ball, you know, in the air of people's heads and stuff. So because obviously people can't see it. Sometimes people do see it. But, you know, that's something that's worked out in training and stuff as well. But most of the time, the ball is that the ball is thrown back in on the ground, you know, just to make sure that there's nothing, you know, except for safety reasons, but also, well, to make sure that to give that player the best possible chance of stopping the ball and showing that there's no overthrows, which means the ball goes, you know, and any potential runs that come about that as well.

And from your perspective as a a wicket keeper, you've been involved with obviously quite a few stumpings and quite a few run out. So how did those sort of wickets come about with the blind cricket mechanics?

I suppose it's typically similar to the sort of cricket. Obviously if someone leaves their crease with a stumping, you know, you can, you can stop them and get them out. But at the end of the line of the big white line there obviously. So for players to have, you know, you know, for a very limited thought, you can usually ask the runner to point that out because they know they don't move past that line. But also as well as usually wicketkeepers, when they go to stumps for stumping opportunities, they usually have helmets on just to make sure that there's no, you know, just for safety reasons. Obviously, you know, with all the concussion of concussions and stuff nowadays. But yeah, obviously typically works in the same It's not as common, I would say. But, you know, it can happen as well. And the usual common way of getting out and blocking as run out, because obviously, you know, running between wickets and everything as well and and stuff. So stumpings and stuff are very, very can happen. Probably the most uncommon way of getting out is, is being able to catch the ball. You know, someone hits it because this doesn't really happen much at all. So it is the balls and go behind you and behind the basket like that. Yeah.

And just final point, quick question on the stand and your innings of 309 not out. Obviously, quite a few boundaries, quite a few fours there, but there's also one six in there. So how does that come about with some with underarm bowling, How do you get the elevation and manage to get that over the boundary? Because that's some both quite impressive, I thought.

Yeah. So it was very much a shock, I think. So typically, you know, it was definitely depends on the bowler after example. So the bowler that I hit that run off his namesake and you know, he's quite quickly bounces the ball. So for me at that moment, it's about the right way. And what happened was I was I just kind of connected with it really well. But as long as the reverse plays, that's one of my usually strengths in my game is the reverse sweep. And what I managed to do is just get underneath that and just obviously, you know, all that training in the gym and everything really helped. Yeah. So and it's got underneath the energies and they just flew over the rope. I didn't realize it until the umpire said it was so, you know, it's definitely you know, I think that, you know, I was very happy with that as well. And the better players as well Can can I get the ball rolling back and chop the ball for stiff arm? But that's only you know, what they do is they basically just chop and they've the ball and we try and get some elevation out of it. But that's a very hard soft play and not I don't usually play because I find it too risky for some of the best players in the world and even Australia's players Australia could do it and that they usually try and chop the ball. But typically you just get underneath the ball and like I said, you stay low, you get underneath the ball is connect with in the right way and just flies up the right. So but sixes and blocking are very uncommon.

How long have you been playing cricket? Understand, it's been seven or eight years, but it's been a long term love of yours before that, hasn't it?

So I played cricket when I was younger. Was my it was my, my, my dad at the park, obviously, like I say, mostly of young, young kids. But I found that I couldn't do it. After a while. My thought was just. I couldn't do it fast anymore, so I kind of moved away from cricket. I still watched it. But for me, I started playing blind cricket in about 2014, and I'll make one against Brad Bradley, you know, and another guy, Daniel Pritchard. They both push me to the blade line cricket and when I started and yeah, obviously since then it's has been, you know, a fantastic experience. So was that life changing because you're not just playing cricket, but meaning people that you have a lifelong friend, you know, and you know, such amazing people that whole have, you know, their own skills, their own experiences, their own personalities and, you know, all who have forged their own path in their lives. So, yes, I've been playing since 2014, you know, obviously, as it's been about eight years now.

Now. Did you have a favourite format of the ones that you've played? You mentioned before that you hadn't played one day internationals for quite a while. You'd been playing T20is. Is there a preference from your side of things?

I think I think it's it's it depends really. I would say 20 cricket is outside of my preferred method, probably because I've played it much more. I think obviously I know how to, you know, you kind of know what you're getting into, that kind of thing as well. Obviously, in terms of ODI cricket. We've played very little and obviously not to play, I forget as well because allows you to kind of build an innings as well. And it's also quite taxing on the body and mentally as well over the course that you know particularly myself since I'm usually wicket keeping it can be quite a long day. But yeah I think probably the T20 is preferred but you know I'm always have to play ODI cricket as well and I think at the moment in the world of like cricket there's a bit more. I think most countries prefer T20 cricket because it's the easiest to prepare for and to train for, I believe. So it's definitely much more preferred than than ODI cricket.

I've been speaking today with Stephan Nero, opening batter for the Australian Blind cricket team who hit a 309 off 140 balls at the Inclusions series in Brisbane versus New Zealand. I'm Sam Kelly, and you're listening to this special holiday edition of Talking Vision on Vision Australia Radio. Associated stations of our Patch and the Community Radio Network. I hope you enjoyed that conversation with Blind cricket. Opening batter and record holder Stefan Nero. And now please enjoy my conversation with Commonwealth Games gold medallist Jess Gallagher after she returned from her adventures in Tokyo earlier this year. I started off the interview with Jess by congratulating her on her double gold medals in the tandem sprint and tandem time trial at the Commonwealth Games and asked her about the experience and how it's all sinking in for her.

It's amazing. I think, you know, as an athlete, you dream about being able to deliver your best performance on the day that it matters, and Caitlin and I certainly did that. We produced some really big personal best times. And so that was, you know, incredibly exciting. And for those results to also culminate into gold medals. You know, you can't really ask for any more. So it was an amazing experience.

And with COVID in the mix over the past year or two, and that's probably thrown quite a spanner in the works. But what was it like to be back at a major event, post-COVID?

It was really exciting. You know, the English crowds, the huge sports fans. And so to be in a stadium that was, you know, sold out full of cheering people who love cycling, who appreciate the excellent performances, they know when a good time is being done. They know when a great race has been raced. And so, you know, it's the career highs to be able to race in front of crowds like that. It makes it that little bit more special when, you know, you've got a stadium of 3 to 5000 people roaring behind you and every move, it just really elevates the experience. So it was really special to be able to do that in the London velodrome.

Jess, when did you know you had three events, One, as you mentioned, did you get feedback from the crowd or maybe Caitlin had told you, Jess We've got this or something like that?

Yeah, no, there's not a lot of communication between Katie and I when we're racing, because if she's having to think about telling me things and the move to last. Really? Oh yeah. For and so in the first race, the ten match sprint, we actually came around and over the top of the Scottish pairing. And so I have low vision. I'm not completely blind, so I do have some peripheral vision. And so because we were very close to each other, you know, it was a really tight tussle for the final lap. And I actually was able to stay out of the corner of my eye that we were passing the other tandem. And so as we crossed that finishing line, I knew that I had the pilot beside me, which meant that because the tandems they're quite long based. So I think we were definitely in front. So, you know, I could really enjoy that celebration because I crossed that line knowing that we'd won that one. And then in the one kilometre time trial, it's a pretty different experience because you're just so physically exhausted. It's a really crucial event and so there's a lot of lactic acid moving through the body. And so when we cross that finishing line, you just really try to breathe and you're trying to sort of process all the pain and the experience. And so it took a lap more. So for me to be able to understand, you know, what position we were sitting in because for Katie is the pilot, you know, she's just as exhausted. So she was a bit bleary and couldn't read the big screen to know what time we'd done. And it's quite comical, really. We're both sort of just trying to come back to life after putting ourselves in this big physical hole. And when I heard her gasp after she was able to read the screen, I realised that we'd done a really good time. And then she tried to tell me a couple of times and with the crowd so noisy I couldn't really hear. And I'm like, I think we've won gold. I'm not really sure. And then I heard the time and I knew because we were the last pairing two to go off. So I knew the times of our competitors. And so once I heard that time and realised it was the fastest, I could sort of throw the hand up in the air and and celebrate a little bit.

Oh, wow. No incredible moment for Saul, for both Fiona and Caitlin. Now, Jess, we've mentioned a couple of things about the logistics of tandem cycling, so listeners might be wondering how tandem cycling works for athletes who are blind or have low vision. So could you tell us a bit more about that perhaps?

Yeah, absolutely. So it's a two person bike and Caitlin is the pilot. She sits on the front of the bike. She's in control of the steering and the direction of where the bike goes. She's also able to put down power and then we actually have a chain that connects both of our pedals on one of the sides of the bike, and that enables me as the striker. So the athlete with low vision or blindness behind her to feel through the pedal. What Caitlin is doing, so how much power she's putting down, if she's not putting down as much. And so my role essentially is to be able to feel and that's how I get my communication of where we are within a rice is by interpreting the feel through those petal strokes. And then also in the elite side of tandem riding aerodynamics is incredibly important. So I am quite tall compared to Caitlin, my pilot. I'm 511 and she's a little bit shorter. So for me, you know, I talk in behind her and try and stay as low as possible and put down as much power as possible.

How is it classified? People may be familiar with B1, b2 B3 kind of rankings for blindness or low vision. So is that the same with cycling?

It is. So as far as I understand it, the vision impaired and blindness community in elite sport across all the different sports uses the same classification system. So they may have different letters, but in essence the requirements of vision is the same. So I'm a base rate and so I have the most functional vision within the elite sporting my vision and blindness space, and that falls under the legally blind classification. So if you have less than 10% central vision and I can't quite remember the peripheral component as I have central vision loss and then for the phase two, it's it's less than 5%. And for the B1 it is minimal to no vision. So as far as I understand it, it's the same across the different Paralympic sports.

We'll go back to the relationship between you and Caitlin Ward now and the importance of that relationship in tandem events. I'm interested to explore this a bit, So could you tell us a bit more about that relationship that you and Caitlin have both built up between yourselves on the bike?

Yeah, it's a really important relationship. It's, you know, you're so intimately connected when you're on the tandem bike that if you don't have a great relationship with the person you're riding with and you can't trust them, then it makes it really, really difficult. And I suppose for me, as the stoker sitting on the back, the most important skill set to be able to gain with your pilot is to be able to trust them, because at the end of the day, you're hitting incredibly high speeds. And as we're riding around that velodrome, I don't have any control of where the bike goes. So I really need to be able to trust that Caitlin or whoever is piloting me has the skill sets and the confidence and the capability to be able to do what's required. And so at the Commonwealth Games, Caitlin and I did a flying 200 meter sprint in 10.6 seconds, which is a top speed of around 67 and a half kilometres an hour. And so I got to be able to, to trust someone to know that they can handle the bike at those sorts of speeds. And then once we get into the sprint racing where we face off against another, the tandem, you know, we get pretty tired, you know, every now and then there might be a wheel torch or there might be a few elbows bumping and, you know, that's part of racing and you've got to be able to trust that that person sitting on the front has the capability to do that. And so off the bike, it's important to be able to to develop a friendship with each other and understand what are the common goals that you might be working towards. Perhaps there are different goals. It's really about developing that friendship first and foremost, and then also that working relationship, so that when you both get on the bike together, you're in the same place and you're in the same headspace of, you know, what it is that you want to achieve together, because it really is a team dynamic. And to me it's incredibly important that the sporting world acknowledges the tandem pilots or, you know, whatever this will be, you know, a ski guide, whatever the support is, that they really acknowledge the tandem pilots because, you know, it takes two to tango, so to speak, on that bike. And, you know, I'm not able to produce my performances if it's not for Katie producing hers as well.

Just she may have also seen the discussions around recently. They're moving to join the Olympics with the Paralympics. But what was it like to compete in the same event at the Commonwealth Games in general, having the para games alongside the Commonwealth Games?

For me it's a really special experience. As part of the Australian rowing team. I also have that experience because the World Championships are an integrated event, so the Paralympic classes are at the same competition as the able bodied, but it is for some sports a really unique opportunity and experience. And for me it's a lot of fun to be a part of that and to be a part of the multi-sport events. But if I think more broadly, I think the greatest benefit that I see more from a societal sense is that it provides a large amount of exposure for Paris. Walsh And if I think about para cycling as an example in the tandems, a lot of people in society who may not have. Exposures to tandems or para cycling before. Usually don't realize that they hit the same speeds as the able bodied. You know, if Katie and I had been in the ranks, we would have been the fourth fastest qualifier. You know, that's how fast we go. And so I think the exposure that the Commonwealth Games provides and that integration really helps educate society and the spectators to realize that Paralympic athletes are athletes first and foremost who just happen to have disability. So for me, I think that's the greatest thing that I've witnessed. Having been to two Commonwealth Games now.

You have been involved in everything from long jump to javelin to alpine skiing to cycling, and I'm also led to believe we can throw rowing into the mix there. So what has been the key for you in not only adapting to, but also excelling at so many different disciplines over time in elite sport?

I think for me, you know, a lot of people don't realize that often my sport changes have come about through forced change or circumstances outside of my control. And one of those being that, you know, the reason I left cycling and moved to the to learn to row was because they weren't able to find me a tandem pilot. And so for me as an elite athlete, when those sorts of challenges happen, I always sit back and think to myself, you know, where is it that I want to be next? And at this point in my life, I still want to be an elite athlete. And so I made the decision to just try something new and to see how it would go. And, you know, that's a really hard process. It involves going back to the being a beginner, to the basics of learning new things and new skills. But what I've realized over the past six years is that I've learnt far more about myself through going through those processes than I do standing on the top of the podium with a gold medal around my neck. And so for me it's really about discovering how good of an athlete that I can be. And in that process I just learn so much more about myself. So I think the older I've gotten as an athlete, the more intrinsically motivated I am to just see where I can take myself and perhaps less motivated by the external things that go on in sport.

Oh, it just that's a perfect note to end on. Thank you so much. We could talk forever. Obviously, you could talk for hours because we haven't even touched on all the other strings to your bio. As you know, just the public speaker, just the advocate and just the ambassador for Vision Australia. So absolutely love to have you back on talking vision one of these days when you're wearing one of these many different hats. So you're always welcome back on the show. It's been an absolute pleasure to chat with you today.

Thank you and thanks for having me. Always great to chat to Vision Australia. They're a big part of my life, so I very happy to be involved and and always happy for a chat.

I've been speaking today with Jess Gallagher, Jill Gold medallist in the para cycling program at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. And that's all we have time for today. You've been listening to Talking Vision. Talking Vision is a production of Vision Australia Radio. Thanks to all involved with putting the program together. And remember, we do love hearing your feedback and comments, so please get in touch. You can reach us on talking vision at Vision Australia dot org. That's talking vision. All one word at Vision Australia dot org. But for the meantime, it's bye for now and wishing you all a safe and happy holiday period.

You can contact Vision Australia by phoning us any time during business hours on one 300 847466. That's one 300 847466 or by visiting vision Australia dot org that's Vision Australia dot all.

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