An Interesting News Story

HARARE, Zimbabwe -- When the ball hits the bat, the radio announcer exclaims
that it's sailing far. Dean Du Plessis' acute sense of hearing and his
eavesdropping on other commentators helps him overcome the fact that he is
blind, producing a delivery so polished that most listeners are unaware that
he can't see. Du Plessis hears the power and direction of the hit. He
listens to the speed and spin of the ball, along with the players' exertions
and their cries of elation or frustration. He senses the excitement -- or
otherwise -- of the play on the cricket field and collates the scores with a
computer-like memory. In the media area at Harare's Country Club sports
field, other journalists see the ball soar skyward after a sharp crack on
the bat. That's a big one. It's gone for six," said the 33-year-old Du
Plessis, his opaque eyes gazing into the distance. It has, flying way out of
the field. Team members and spectators murmur applause as the often sedate
game of cricket that originated in Britain goes on. In a fast-moving sport
like basketball, De Plessis' feat would likely be impossible. He asks a
friend to confirm the score on the board and feeds the latest to state
radio. I have to ensure I am totally accurate," he told The Associated
Press. I'm generally spot on or very close. I think I have a pretty big hard
drive in my head. On this day, in a friendly match against New Zealand
visitors in Harare, he doesn't have the advantage of mini cameras and
microphones placed in the stumps, three upright sticks at each end of the
pitch, that are routinely placed on the field at top international games.
Used as a "television umpire" and to assist in television coverage, they
help Du Plessis "watch" the game. When they are there, the mikes are very
important," he said. In commentating at international games in Bangladesh
and South Africa, he said he listens to fellow sighted commentators and also
asks questions of scorekeepers and players alike. Former Australian star
Test cricket player Shayne Warne has body movements and verbal grunts that
are easy to discern, according to Du Plessis. Other world sportsmen have an
audible "signature" too. A former England cricket team captain talks to a
struck ball, willing it to roll further to the four-run boundary line, said
Du Plessis. The Zimbabwe-born commentator was born with tumors in both eyes
and his parents were told he wouldn't live beyond infancy. They sent him to
a school for the blind in neighboring South Africa at age six in the absence
of a similar facility at home. It was there that his passion for sports was
born as he listened to radio commentaries. Above the sound of firecrackers
and the "cacophony" of tens of thousands of cricket-mad Asian supporters, he
easily followed an Indian cricket series by "tuning in" to all the sound
effects. Zimbabwe beat South Africa in the 1992 cricket World Cup and soon
after beat top Test cricket nation England in Harare. I was already hooked,"
said Du Plessis. A former telephone operator, he now works as a media editor
at the national cricket governing body's headquarters in Harare. He reads
braille but says audio programs on mobile phones and computers have made
punched braille manuscripts almost obsolete. He follows martial arts
competitions in Zimbabwe and belongs to motorcycle club that meets Sundays,
enjoying riding on the back of fast bikes. He is not inhibited nearly as
much as you would expect," said veteran award-winning Zimbabwe sports writer
John Kelley. His memory for the scores and his match summaries are
absolutely astonishing. A policeman at a roadblock recognized Du Plessis
immediately from his radio voice when he said good morning and let him
proceed. Du Plessis said he dreams of working full time for a major
international sports channel, "but as soon as people learn I'm blind they
back off. Still, he has shared commentary boxes with the world's best in
South Africa and Asia, and earned many colleagues' respect. He's unique. On
air, you can't tell he's blind. Only a circle of cricket followers know he
is," said Dave Emberton, a Zimbabwe broadcast news reader. .