How Lord's Taverners helped Northumberland boy find a place where he belongs

Ravi's encyclopaedic cricket knowledge has enabled him to thrive

CHARITY FEATURE

Northumberland Super 1s participant, Ravi was born with Leber Congenital Amaurosis (LCA), a rare inherited form of blindness affecting around one in 80,000 newborns.

From an early age, his parents refused to let blindness become a barrier. Ravi tried horse riding, climbing, swimming and goalball. He attended a mainstream school in North Tyneside, supported by a specialist visually impaired team. 

Cricket entered Ravi’s life in an entirely ordinary way – through the living room television. At eight years old, while his dad watched a men’s England v New Zealand Test match, Ravi was with him. Though he couldn’t see the action, he tuned into the rhythm of the game and began asking questions. What was happening? What was the score?

Soon Ravi wasn’t just listening – he was analysing. In fact, he began educating his dad on the Laws and finer points of the game. With an Indian grandad and an English mum, the family enjoys healthy Anglo-Indian rivalry, something Ravi relishes.

Later that year, Ravi asked Santa for cricket tickets, and he got them – a men’s England v India ODI at Old Trafford. India were chasing 259 and had slumped to 83 for 4. Ravi thought the game was gone for them – until Rishabh Pant’s century turned the match on its head. India won by five wickets. It was Ravi’s first live sporting experience, and he took it all in his stride. 

From that day forward, Ravi became a cricket fanatic. Television, Test Match Special (TMS), podcasts – if it involved cricket, he was tuned in. His father still marvels at how accurately Ravi reads the game purely through sound – 99 per cent of the time he can tell whether a delivery is a dot ball, single, four or six simply from the sound of the ball off the bat.

But listening wasn’t enough. Ravi wanted to play.

His dad searched for blind cricket opportunities, but the nearest team was for adults. So, they bought a visually impaired cricket ball, roughly the size of a football and filled with ball bearings to create sound. Cricket in the garden became a regular feature and Ravi’s love for the game continued to grow.

But it wasn’t long before Northumberland Cricket Board (NCB) contacted the family about the Lord’s Taverners disability cricket programme, Super 1s, launching locally. Super 1s is a community programme for young people with a disability aged 8–25, providing regular cricket, social connection, and life-skills development.

The newly formed Gateshead-based Super 1s hub, sadly folded due to low numbers. Shortly after, a new Super 1s hub was introduced closer to home. From the first session, something clicked. The enthusiasm of energetic coaches, Sam Biggs and Laurie Robson, was infectious. They could match Ravi’s encyclopaedic cricket knowledge - no small feat – and sessions on Thursday evenings quickly became the highlight of his week. This hub continues to thrive under NCB Disability Development Officer Paul Roberts. Participants span a range of ages and needs. Ravi is currently the only visually impaired participant - a fact that initially concerned his dad. How would one session cater to such diverse requirements?

The answer has been simple: adaptation, creativity and inclusion. Everyone rolls with it. Everyone belongs.

Over the past three years, Ravi’s confidence has flourished alongside his cricketing skills. His dad speaks glowingly about watching all the young players grow – not just as cricketers, but socially. For Ravi, now 12, Super 1s is more than cricket. It’s friendship, belonging and proof that disability is no barrier to ambition.

Cricket has an incredible capability to unite and inspire. Super 1s does exactly that – ensuring every young person living with a disability has the opportunity to access the game and all the personal development opportunities it brings. By supporting this work, you can help ensure that young players like Ravi don’t just follow the game they love – they get to play it.

Click here to watch Ravi's story.