Blind Cricket: Rules, the Ball, World Cups and Where to Play

Blind cricket is cricket for blind and partially sighted players: the ball makes a sound, bowling is underarm, and some rules change with how much each player can see. Every team mixes totally blind, partially blind and partially sighted players, and a totally blind batter's runs count double. Internationally, the game follows the playing rules of World Blind Cricket, the World Blind Cricket Council (WBCC rules, 6th revision, November 2025).

Pages were checked on November 1, 2026. The rules below are the international ones unless the post says UK domestic.

Key points

• Three sight classes on every team. An international side of 11 must include at least "4 Totally Blind players (B1s)" and 3 partially blind players (B2s), with at most 4 partially sighted players (B3s) (WBCC rules).
• Bowling is underarm. "The bowling must be underarm," and the ball bounces before it reaches the batter (WBCC rules).
• Totally blind batters score double. "All runs scored off the bat by a (B1) batter shall be doubled," and a B1 batter always has a runner (WBCC rules).
• The ball makes a sound. International matches use a small hard ball. In UK domestic cricket, "A size three football is used in UK Blind Cricket" (BCEW).
• India has the most World Cup titles. In the results below, India won five men's World Cups and the first women's one, Pakistan three and South Africa one.

Blind cricket at a glance

How a blind cricket match works

Blind cricket keeps the shape of the sighted game: two teams of 11, a 22-yard pitch, stumps at each end, six balls an over. Anything WBCC's rules don't cover "will be applicable under the MCC Laws of Cricket," the same laws sighted cricket uses (WBCC rules).

What changes is built around sound and touch:

• Stumps. The stumps are tubular, in white, fluorescent orange or yellow, and "Bails will not be used in International Blind Cricket" (WBCC rules).
• Calls before every ball. "Ready", "yes", then "play" just before the bowler lets go. A wrong sequence, or "play" called early or late, is a no ball (WBCC rules).
• Direction for blind bowlers. Blind Cricket South Australia explains that "B1 (totally blind) players receive a direction call from the wicketkeeper" to find the line before they bowl (Blind Sports SA).

The ball

International cricket. The rules only say that "The balls that are approved by the World Blind Cricket Council" are used in every international match (WBCC rules). India's organizers described it when they hosted the first two World Cups. In 1998, the Indian association's history called it "The hard plastic ball with ball bearings" and said it was developed at NIVH, the National Institute for the Visually Handicapped in Dehradun (Cricinfo archive, 1998). In 2002, the same association described "a white ball made of plastic and filled with tiny ball bearings" that rattle when it moves (Cricinfo archive, 2002).

UK domestic cricket. Clubs in England and Wales use a bigger ball. BCEW calls the ball "The main difference between standard Cricket and Blind Cricket": a size three football, chosen "to help the partially sighted players to see it," and made to be heard by totally blind players (BCEW).

B1, B2 and B3: who plays

Blind cricket uses three sight classes. WBCC writes them in metric acuity, measured in the better eye after correction (B1 covers both eyes):

Source: WBCC rules. In US notation, 2/60 is 20/600 and 6/60 is 20/200. These are the same three classes many blind sports use; our guide to sports for blind people explains them across sports.

A few rules follow from the classes:

• The mix. At least four B1s and three B2s, and no more than four B3s. A team can field more B1s or B2s than the minimum (WBCC rules).
• The batting order. In every group of three batters, "one player from each category must be played" (WBCC rules).
• Blackout glasses. Every B1 player on the field must wear "non-transparent Blackout Glasses" approved by WBCC, when batting, bowling or fielding (WBCC rules).

The rules that change with each class

Bowling

• Underarm, with two bounces. The arm must be below the shoulder at delivery. "The ball must bounce once on either side of the mid-pitch line" before it reaches the batting crease, so a fair ball bounces in the bowler's half and again in the batter's half. (WBCC rules).
• Blind bowlers bowl a set share. At least 40% of the overs must be bowled by B1 bowlers: 16 overs in a 40-over match and 8 in a T20. No one bowls more than a fifth of the overs (WBCC rules).
• Keep it low to a B1 batter. "Bowlers shall not deliberately bounce the ball to a Totally Blind (B1) batter." A ball that passes a B1 batter above the red line on the stumps is a dead ball the first time in an over, and a no ball after that (WBCC rules).

Batting and runs

• B1: runs count double. Every run a B1 batter scores off the bat counts double (WBCC rules).
• The runner. "A (B1) batter shall have a runner." A B2 batter can choose one, "only due to low vision," and must decide at the start of the innings. A B3 batter "does not have the option of a runner" (WBCC rules).

Fielding

• The one-bounce catch. When a B1 fielder catches the ball after one bounce, that catch "shall result in the batter being given out" (WBCC rules).

UK domestic cricket is a little different

In England and Wales, the England and Wales Cricket Board oversees blind cricket, but BCEW is "responsible for the day to day running of the sport," including the rules (BCEW). Its domestic rules differ from the international ones in a few places:

• "All players are registered blind or partially sighted." If you're in the UK and not sure what that means, see registered blind in the UK.
• "Of the eleven players in the team, at least four must be totally blind."
• The ball must pitch at least twice before it reaches a totally blind batter, without rolling, and at least once for a partially sighted batter.
• A totally blind batter gets one chance before being given out LBW, and "cannot be stumped or out hit wicket."
• "A totally blind Fielder can make a catch after the ball has bounced once."

Source for all five: BCEW, The Game.

The World Blind Cricket Council

The game got a world body when the Indian association's founding chairman, George Abraham, became the "prime mover behind the formation of the World Blind Cricket Council." In 2002 it brought together seven major cricket nations, and the council "saw the game being standardized with the formulation of set rules" (Cricinfo archive, 2002).

The rules were ratified in October 2005 and has been revised six times, most recently in November 2025. Its current title uses the name World Blind Cricket Ltd (WBCC rules). WBCC's website didn't load when we checked, so we read the copy Nepal's board publishes.

Blind cricket World Cup winners

There are three World Cups: a 40-over men's World Cup, a men's T20 World Cup and, since 2025, a women's T20 World Cup. These are the finals we could confirm with two sources each, as of November 1, 2026:

Sources, year by year:

• 1998. The first World Cup was held in New Delhi in 1998, and South Africa went into 2002 as "reigning champions" (Cricinfo archive, 2002). The South African team won the November 1998 tournament (The National).
• 2002 and 2006. Pakistan's president congratulated the team on its 2002 win in Chennai, adding "this is the first time that they have won the coveted World Cup" (PCB statement, Cricinfo archive). ESPNcricinfo wrote in 2012 that Pakistan won two of the first three 40-over World Cups, the last against India in Islamabad in 2006 (ESPNcricinfo). A 2006 report from Pakistan gives the same final (All Things Pakistan).
• 2012 and 2017. India beat Pakistan in Bangalore in 2012 (ESPNcricinfo) and in Bengaluru in 2017 (BCCI); Geo News gives both margins.
• 2014 and 2018. India's board lists the 2014 One Day World Cup among India's titles (CABI), and India went into 2018 as defending champions. India won the 2018 final in Sharjah (Gulf News, Daily Pakistan).
• 2022 and 2024. India beat Bangladesh for a third T20 title in 2022 (Deccan Herald). Pakistan won its first T20 title at Multan on December 3, 2024 (Arab News, Daily Times). Geo News covers both finals.
• 2025. "India have won the first-ever Blind Women's T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka," beating Nepal by seven wickets in Colombo in November 2025 (ICC, BCCI, News On Air).

Where to play blind cricket

Start with the national body in your country.

England and Wales

Blind Cricket England & Wales (BCEW) runs the domestic game. Its 2026 Primary Club Cup has eight teams: Kent Spitfires, Lancashire Lions, London Metro, Northamptonshire Steelbacks, Somerset VICC, Staffordshire Wolves, Sussex Sharks and Yorkshire Vikings. BCEW says the cup is "believed to be the longest running disability cricket competition in the world." There is also a T20 cup, and in 2026 three development leagues (Midland, Northern and Southern) for teams not ready to compete nationally. To find a club near you, start with BCEW's clubs page or contact BCEW.

Australia

Queensland Cricket says "Blind Cricket Australia oversees competitions across the nation," and Queensland also has its own Blind Cricket Association, which runs come-and-try days and skills clinics from time to time (Queensland Cricket). In South Australia, Blind Cricket South Australia runs programs for juniors and adults, with a season from October to the end of March (Blind Sports SA).

At the top level, "Each year in January, Cricket Australia hosts the National Cricket Inclusion Championships," with a Blind and Low Vision division. (Cricket Australia).

India

The Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI) calls itself the "Apex Body Governing, Organizing and Developing Cricket for the Blind in India." It has 30 State/UT boards and over 30,000 players at domestic level, and it is the cricketing arm of the Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled (CABI). To find a team, start with CABI or your state's board.

United States

Blind cricket is new in the US. The Cricket Association for the Blind - USA (CABUSA) says the game is "being introduced to a country with no historical footprint of the game" (CABUSA). It aims to form state-level men's and women's teams and a national championship, and it set out to send a first US women's team to the 2025 Women's T20 World Cup (CABUSA). The ICC lists the USA among the teams India beat there (ICC). CABUSA says "there are opportunities for everyone to play cricket for the blind," and also looks for umpires, scorers, coaches and volunteers (CABUSA, Get involved).

Where Braillito fits

Braillito, our app, teaches braille. It teaches the braille cells in lessons with exercises you play, with lives, levels and a daily streak: 59 lessons in 8 worlds in English. It also has a translator, a dictionary and a cell builder. The English lessons are uncontracted braille (grade 1); they don't teach contracted braille or transcription, and Braillito isn't a braille transcriber.

Blind cricket doesn't need braille: it runs on sound, calls and touch. If you're a blind or partially sighted player, or the parent, coach or teacher of one, braille is a separate skill for reading and writing by touch, off the field. Nothing here means any cricket board or team uses or endorses Braillito. Without paying, the braille translator works in any browser.

Braillito is a subscription with no free version; depending on the plan, it starts with a free trial or a discounted first period, if it's your first subscription (is Braillito free?). Get Braillito.

Frequently asked questions

How do blind people play cricket?

With a ball that makes a sound, underarm bowling that bounces before it reaches the batter, and calls of "ready", "yes" and "play" before every ball. Each team mixes totally blind (B1), partially blind (B2) and partially sighted (B3) players. B1 batters always have a runner and their runs count double (WBCC rules).

What ball is used in blind cricket?

International matches use a ball approved by World Blind Cricket; India's organizers described it as a hard plastic ball with ball bearings inside. UK domestic cricket uses a size three football that makes a sound (BCEW).

Who won the blind cricket World Cup?

The most recent men's T20 World Cup, in 2024, went to Pakistan, who beat Bangladesh by 10 wickets in Multan. India won the last 40-over World Cup, in 2018, and the first Women's T20 World Cup, in 2025. The full list of winners is above.

How do I find a blind cricket team?

Go through the national body: BCEW in England and Wales, the state blind cricket associations in Australia, CABI and its state boards in India, and CABUSA in the US. Their pages are linked above.