Pakistan is a land where you can expect anything. This crippled boy is the best example of it. He does not has his both legs and yet he is seen playing cricket. He is batting like a pro here and he has stunned the people with his batting. This is amazing talent.
This boy first defend the ball outside the off stump. The ball was a length ball and he easily managed it on the off side. The best thing is that this shot showed that he can bat and has been playing cricket for a while now. This is true cricket spirit and talent.
There was another Crippled Cricketer former Plymouth soldier was badly injured during an Army training exercise, setting off a chain of events which changed his life forever. But thanks to the power of cricket, he is on the road to recovery. SAM BLACKLEDGE reports.
When Patrick Medhurst-Feeney walks to the crease with a bat in his hands, everything goes quiet.
"Before a match my brain is going nuts," he says.
"I am looking for danger, looking for anything that is not right. It's what I was trained for.
"As soon as I step on to the cricket pitch, all that goes away.
"It just shuts off all the noise and the fear inside me."
Patrick joined the Army at the age of 19, and was posted to his first tour of Afghanistan in 2011 as a veterinary technician.
Just weeks after the operation ended, during an adventure training exercise in Germany, he suffered a severe back injury.
After two years of physiotherapy he was deployed again, this time as a vehicle search dog handler.
"That job took its toll on me," he says. "I was in and out of the patrol base in Helmand Province and eventually my back just gave up the ghost."
He was transferred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birimingham, and eventually back to Plymouth.
But as his physical scars healed, Patrick realised he was suffering from a different sort of trauma.
"My second night back home was firework night," he says.
"I was frightened by the explosions. I ended up having a massive panic attack and a breakdown."
He was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and referred to Help for Heroes at HMS Drake.
Embarking on the long road to recovery, he discovered the charity was looking to form a cricket team.
"I thought I would give it a go," he says.
"It just ignited this love of cricket again and gave me a focus."
These days Patrick is a popular member of Yelverton Bohemians, a village club in the Devon league with three thriving teams and a picturesque ground off the A379.
He has re-modeled his batting technique and accepted his physical limitations – the league authorities have even amended the rules to fit him in.
"I'm not able to run, so I rely on a runner when I'm batting," he says.
"Usually you can only have a runner if you've hurt yourself during the game, but they made an exception.
"I can still play proper cricket shots and I can field close in. I just can't go racing around the boundary."
One of Patrick's team-mates says he took a blinding slip catch during a friendly game last weekend. He admits old habits die hard.
"That part of my cricket brain tells me I can still dive around," he says.
"It hurts, but I still get that buzz from being involved."
Patrick says the unique nature of cricket makes it a perfect fit for his recovery.
"If you don't focus on the ball you get hit, and it bloody hurts," he says.
"I can stand out there for a whole afternoon and not do anything, but because I am focusing on the ball, and what everybody is doing, I shut my brain off from worrying about what is around me.
"It makes me feel happy and relaxed. After a game I have two or three days of a mental high.
"It gives me that endorphin rush. I find I'm more proactive at home, I'm more involed in everything. My wife loves it too, because it gets me out of the house!" The social side of the game is just as important as what happens in the middle, he says.
"It's one of the big things I have missed since I left the Army. You're always part of a unit, part of a group. When I got injured I lost that.
"Now I can be a normal person, just one of the lads again."
Yelverton coach Chris Cottrell says Patrick is an inspiration.
"He is just absolutely fantastic," he says.
"He's a lovely lad. I know he's been through his dark times, but this is bringing him back out into the light.
"Just to see the love that he has for the game when he goes out there, rather than sitting at home thinking too much, I am so proud of him."
This boy first defend the ball outside the off stump. The ball was a length ball and he easily managed it on the off side. The best thing is that this shot showed that he can bat and has been playing cricket for a while now. This is true cricket spirit and talent.
There was another Crippled Cricketer former Plymouth soldier was badly injured during an Army training exercise, setting off a chain of events which changed his life forever. But thanks to the power of cricket, he is on the road to recovery. SAM BLACKLEDGE reports.
When Patrick Medhurst-Feeney walks to the crease with a bat in his hands, everything goes quiet.
"Before a match my brain is going nuts," he says.
"I am looking for danger, looking for anything that is not right. It's what I was trained for.
"As soon as I step on to the cricket pitch, all that goes away.
"It just shuts off all the noise and the fear inside me."
Patrick joined the Army at the age of 19, and was posted to his first tour of Afghanistan in 2011 as a veterinary technician.
Just weeks after the operation ended, during an adventure training exercise in Germany, he suffered a severe back injury.
After two years of physiotherapy he was deployed again, this time as a vehicle search dog handler.
"That job took its toll on me," he says. "I was in and out of the patrol base in Helmand Province and eventually my back just gave up the ghost."
He was transferred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birimingham, and eventually back to Plymouth.
But as his physical scars healed, Patrick realised he was suffering from a different sort of trauma.
"My second night back home was firework night," he says.
"I was frightened by the explosions. I ended up having a massive panic attack and a breakdown."
He was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and referred to Help for Heroes at HMS Drake.
Embarking on the long road to recovery, he discovered the charity was looking to form a cricket team.
"I thought I would give it a go," he says.
"It just ignited this love of cricket again and gave me a focus."
These days Patrick is a popular member of Yelverton Bohemians, a village club in the Devon league with three thriving teams and a picturesque ground off the A379.
He has re-modeled his batting technique and accepted his physical limitations – the league authorities have even amended the rules to fit him in.
"I'm not able to run, so I rely on a runner when I'm batting," he says.
"Usually you can only have a runner if you've hurt yourself during the game, but they made an exception.
"I can still play proper cricket shots and I can field close in. I just can't go racing around the boundary."
One of Patrick's team-mates says he took a blinding slip catch during a friendly game last weekend. He admits old habits die hard.
"That part of my cricket brain tells me I can still dive around," he says.
"It hurts, but I still get that buzz from being involved."
Patrick says the unique nature of cricket makes it a perfect fit for his recovery.
"If you don't focus on the ball you get hit, and it bloody hurts," he says.
"I can stand out there for a whole afternoon and not do anything, but because I am focusing on the ball, and what everybody is doing, I shut my brain off from worrying about what is around me.
"It makes me feel happy and relaxed. After a game I have two or three days of a mental high.
"It gives me that endorphin rush. I find I'm more proactive at home, I'm more involed in everything. My wife loves it too, because it gets me out of the house!" The social side of the game is just as important as what happens in the middle, he says.
"It's one of the big things I have missed since I left the Army. You're always part of a unit, part of a group. When I got injured I lost that.
"Now I can be a normal person, just one of the lads again."
Yelverton coach Chris Cottrell says Patrick is an inspiration.
"He is just absolutely fantastic," he says.
"He's a lovely lad. I know he's been through his dark times, but this is bringing him back out into the light.
"Just to see the love that he has for the game when he goes out there, rather than sitting at home thinking too much, I am so proud of him."
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