Some of the Border’s blind cricketers have to travel to the ACT to play their sport competitively, but had the chance to play an exhibition match at home on Sunday against New City, with a few added members of the community.

The Border Mail has told the stories of some of these players over the years and has great respect for the skills they display with limited vision.

But journalists involved in Sunday’s match – complete with vision reducing goggles – had a whole new perspective on what these athletes can do.

There were more laughs than sledges on the field and the odd ball bowled closer to square leg than the stumps ensured Mitchell Starc did not have any extra competition for his fast bowling position in India.

Once they got the hang of the reduced vision, it was game on.

The Border Mail editor Xavier Mardling said he was even more grateful to have his sight when he finally took the goggles off after the game.

“The overwhelming thing for me today was how we should appreciate what we have in life,” he said.

“It was incredibly difficult trying to navigate just a few hours vision impaired, let alone trying to live permanently like that.”

Mike Hamilton has previously said he struggles with what people think of him as a man legally blind with 10 per cent vision, because at first, they usually cannot tell.

But what we should feel for him is pride.

Representing your country is an amazing achievement for any 25-year-old, especially one who has had to overcome enormous challenges to be among the best at a sport, in this case blind cricket.

Disability was also on the agenda this week when carers went on strike in Wangaratta over plans to privatise the industry, which would provide uncertainty in the level of care they could provide in the future.

“Just because we have a client base that can’t speak up for themselves, why should we suffer?” one carer said.

Whether it is proper care for those unable to help themselves, or financial assistance for champions like Mike Hamilton who have to pay their own way to  compete for Australia, we should not turn our backs.

It’s tough to walk in their shoes – we should be as supportive as possible.