Dean Du Plessis: The First Visually Impaired Commentator To Cover International Cricket

19 May 2021


ByKal Sajad
BBC Sport


The grunt of a bowler's shipment, the shuffle of the batsman's feet and the crunch of willow striking leather.


These noises - which often go unnoticed by cricket fans - are all that are required for commentator Dean du Plessis to communicate what is happening to his audience.


The 44-year-old Zimbabwean, who was born with tumours behind both retinas, is the very first visually impaired analyst to cover worldwide cricket.


"Commentating by noise is nothing spectacular," he decently states.


"I have a feed from the stump microphone, no other technology, and simply listen extremely, extremely thoroughly; as much as sighted people pay close attention to what they're seeing, that's what I do."


Speaking to BBC Sport, Du Plessis describes the origins of his love for cricket, his into the commentary box and the methods he uses when calling the action.


Falling in love through the sound of cricket


Du Plessis holds true cricket aficionado, whose commentary is typically complemented with the most unknown stats from years passed.


But he was not constantly a fan of the sport.


"My sibling Gary was a very, really great cricketer however I didn't understand the video game when I was young," he states.


"Nobody really took time out to describe cricket to me and I in fact hated and loathed that with an enthusiasm."


Born in Harare, Du Plessis later on went to study at boarding school in South Africa which is where his attachment to cricket initially emerged.


In 1991, South Africa took a trip to India in what was their readmission to worldwide cricket with the country's apartheid regime coming to an end.


"I was listening to the 3rd match of the series on Radio 2000, South Africa's comparable to Test Match Special," Du Plessis states.


"All I heard was sound, that's all I can explain, it was simply a sound of about 60 or 70,000 Indian enthusiasts cheering and also continuously letting go fireworks.


"And vaguely through the noise of cheering and fireworks far, you might hear a commentator trying to inform you what was going on and I didn't comprehend what he was stating.


"It was something like 'in comes Donald to Tendulkar, through square leg, past the umpire, down to backward square leg, the fielder selects up and they run through for a single'.


"I understood bits about cricket but I didn't learn about backward square leg and things like that.


"But I began to listen and truly enjoy it. I don't understand why since I didn't understand what they were stating, but whenever it chose 4 or a six, I could feel the excitement structure."


Phoning cricket stars and 'being an insect'


As Du Plessis' love for the video game grew, he triggered on an objective to reach out to his new-found heroes.


While the modern-day sports fan may direct message Ben Stokes or tag Jofra Archer, Du Plessis would rather simply browse for Zimbabwe cricketers in the local telephone directory.


"I would then have their number and phone using a call box from school, hoping my money would not go out and just wanting to talk cricket with these gamers," he says.


"I was a real insect and the primary bad victim was bowler Eddo Brandes, he was a chicken farmer and sometimes I would call him after I had actually finished school at 8pm and he needed to actually be up with the chickens at 3 or 4 o'clock in the early morning.


"He 'd be a bit irritated in the beginning however once he was up and awake he was very, extremely ready to chat. I also utilized to phone Alastair Campbell who was really kind to me as were both the Flower brothers, Grant and Andy."


But it was previous Zimbabwe batsman David Houghton - now head coach at Derbyshire - who Du Plessis really struck up a relationship with.


"Dave was simply a fountain of information, but what I really value was he didn't simply answer my concerns however he would ask all about me too," adds Du Plessis.


"Once my cash will run out and he requested for my number to call me back, and we promoted a good 20 minutes."


From fan to commentator


Having finished his research studies, Du Plessis returned to Zimbabwe with a network of superstar cricket pals.


"It was the cricketers - the Flower siblings, Houghton, Campbell, Brandes - that made me feel extremely, very welcome and would invite me to come watch them play," he says.


Du Plessis soon became a routine at national premises and, having actually been provided the flexibility to stroll around the media centres, was rubbing shoulders with broadcasters and cricket press.


During a global triangular series between Zimbabwe, India and West Indies in 2001, he was welcomed to sign up with journalist Neil Manthorp, who was on traditional pal, and former India batsman Ravi Shastri for a 15 minute chat on the Cricinfo site's online radio broadcast.


Du Plessis' knowledge and interest impressed both the broadcast team and those back at headquarters.


"It was meant to just be a short discussion on my satisfaction of cricket however Neil got an e-mail from the workplace midway through," he says.


"The manufacturers wished to keep me on for the complete thirty minutes and make certain I belonged of the remainder of the series.


"Which's practically how my commentary began. I then got my very first television gig two years."


How does he do it?


Du Plessis is typically asked how he manages to determine what is taking place on the field.


"Well, I don't have any additional technology or extra stump mic or anybody informing me what's going on," he responds to.


"I can inform you who the different bowlers are by the method they approach the crease.


"With Stuart Broad, for instance, there's a bit of a dragging sound as the ball is provided he provides an explosive grunt as he gets to the wicket.


"Some approach the crease extremely silently, like Freddie Flintoff who hardly made a sound, whereas Shane Warne, as a leg-spinner, had a substantial grunt."


Du Plessis can also determine which batter is on strike through the noise of their voice, and the direction in which the ball is hit by the sound it scampers the bat.


"In regards to batting you simply listen extremely thoroughly to how the batters communicate with each other," he says.


"When Andrew Strauss and Marcus Trescothick utilized to bat together, Trescothick would constantly simply state "run" when he hit the ball whereas Strauss would state "Yeah come on, begin, come on".


"And when the ball is hit through the off side, it has a really sharp, crack noise, as opposed to the ball being played through the leg side.


"I can likewise tell when sweep shots are being played due to the fact that you can hear the bat hitting the ground with a scraping sound."


'I believe I have actually found my specific niche'


A life time of listening to cricket combined with the capability to acknowledge people by noise, touch and odor has actually allowed to Du Plessis to create an effective career as a broadcaster.


A speaker of his own cricket podcast, he says his commentary work may need to take a rear seats due to health reasons.


"I think I will have to do less of the commentary which's mainly due to the fact that I've lost quite a bit of my hearing, specifically in my left ear," he discusses.


"Apparently that's a common thing with blind people because we use our ears so enthusiastically.


"But I think I have actually found my niche in hosting, presenting and doing podcasts. I would enjoy to advance my broadcasting profession and perhaps emigrate from Zimbabwe, ideally to a cricket-playing nation."


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