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England

Dave Samuels aged 33 and 6ft. 1" tall, is one of the country's leading batsman. He is a partially blind B3 player. He is extremely effective driving on the off-side and rarely lets a bad ball go unpunished. Dave is a useful bowler and an agile mid-off fielder. He had captained the Metro team to their successful tour of South Africa. Dave works as a rehabilitation officer for the visually impaired at Brent Council.

Heindrick Swanepool 29 years old and 6ft. tall is a Metro player and is one of the fastest bowlers in the English blind cricket team. Despite his South African background he has opted to represent England. He is also a hard hitting batsman and an effective fielder. Professionally Swanepool is a physiotherapist. He is a partially blind B2 player.

Geoff Smith Winner of two National Championships with Metro Wicket Keeper Geoff Smith, 46 years and height 5ft. 6" is the older statesman of the squad . He has been playing blind cricket for the past 10 years. A keen all-round sportsman, Geoff also plays rugby, football and hockey. He is a specialist worker for the visually impaired and his interests include history, reading and travel. He is a partially blind B3 player.

Phil Carmichael 34 and standing 6ft. 7" tall is an all rounder who bowls extremely accurately and hits the ball real hard especially on the off side. He is currently with London Sports. Phil was part of a Royal National College for the Blind team which won the knockout cup in 1981. A regular tournament golfer and chess player, Phil also enjoys playing the guitar and the piano. He is a partially blind B2 player.

Andy Fisher, partially blind (B3), 33 years and 5ft. 10" tall is a bowler who possess a deceptive change of pace. Last summer he played for South Wales and before that since 1984 he had been playing for Avon. He was also part of the English football and swimming squads. A rehabilitation officer by profession Andrew is currently working in the field of public relations and marketing . His other sporting interests include football, body-boarding, running, cycling and swimming. He is also a military historian.

Dave Anker, partially blind (B2), 34 years and 5ft. 9" tall is a bowler and a useful bat. He has been playing cricket for White Rose for 13 years. He is an excellent close to the wicket fielder, a specialist at silly - point with fast reflexes and very good handling skills. Dave also a keen footballer is a personnel officer with Kirklees Council. His other sports include skiing, water skiing and watersurfing.

Stephen Carpenter, partially blind (B3), 5ft. 11" is a solid batsman and a very safe deep fielder who can also keep wickets. 36 year old Stephen is a veteran player who has been in the field for more than 20 years. Stephen's other sports are football and bowls. He enjoys music and has also worked as a hospital radio DJ. He currently plays for South Wales and works as a word processing operator for Bristol City Council.

Adam Benjamin, partially blind (B3), 26 years and 6ft. 11" tall is a consistent batsman who has played for Metro for 2 years. Adam was previously with Birmingham Sports where he was captain and Man of the match during the 1997 knockout final at Lords. He is an ardent football fan (Nottingham forest fan) and also enjoys playing the game. His other sporting interests are skiing and running. Adam is employed as an officer with the Government.

Giles Carrington, totally blind (B1), 35 years, 6ft. 3" has perfected a windmill style underarm bowling technique for the World Cup. He is a close to the wicket fielder . He plays for London sports. Giles is a former musician/ manager of former Monkee Davey Jones and A and R man who also toured Europe as a drummer. He was the subject of TV and radio appearances after making a commercial for Salsa Tequila, the first to feature a totally blind lead actor. Giles works as a business adviser.

Neil Prior, totally blind (B1), 20 years and 5ft. 8" tall is a batsman with South Wales. He is in his first year as a history and politics degree student at the University of Wales, Swansea.. His other sporting interests include athletics (100 & 200 meters) and football. Neil also works as a journalist. His other interests include reading, cinema and playing bass guitar.

Damien O'Connor, totally blind (B1), 33 years and 5 ft. 10" tall is a bowler and close in fielder. He has been playing cricket for the past eight years with White Rose. He also plays football. (He is a left back for the White Rose football team). He is a project worker for New breed theatre and his interests include reading and acting.

Gary O'Neil 23 years, partially blind (B3), 6 ft. 2" tall is an all rounder. His bowling is particularly effective. He is an excellent fielder at the cover boundary and possess a strong throwing arm. In his first year itself at White Rose, he was made Vice captain. Gary is a season ticket holder with Manchester United and works as a project engineer for British Aerospace.

Brinley Reynolds, partially blind (B2), 27 years and 5ft. 9" height is a very consistent batsman. He also has a fair share of wickets to his credit. A civil servant, Brinley won a silver medal as a sprinter in the 1992 paralympics in Barcelona. He is also an international footballer and was involved in the first European football Championships.

Miles Northwood, totally blind (B1), 24 years, 6ft. 4" tall, is an all rounder. He is extremely accurate and a close in fielder. He has with White Rose for 12 years. He is currently studying the techniques of massage and reflexology at the Royal National College for the Blind , Hereford. His other sports include rowing and football. Miles is also an accomplished rock 'n' roll blues and country guitarist.

David Mears, partially blind (B3), 38 years and 5ft. 8" tall is an all rounder. He has played for Metro for the past 20 years.He also plays football and enjoys reading in his spare time.

Jonathan Iturby, partially sighted (B3), 21 years, 5ft. 11" tall is a very agile fielder. He is also useful with the bat. He works in the health service.

Gavin Anthony Griffiths is a totally blind (B1) player, 25 years of age and 6ft. 3" tall. He has been with white Rose for the past 13 years. Previously he captained Worcestor. He is a good batsman and a fielder. A couple of times he played for the English blind football team and even captained the White Rose football team. He is generally interested in sport, music and enjoys attending live concerts.

Andy Sellins, 35 is accompanying the team as head coach. He is captain of London County CC, WG Graces's old team and Islington CC. He is currently a development officer with the London Community Cricket Association. He has written a book on cricket coaching techniques and rewritten the English Cricket Board's coaches manual specifically for players with a visual impairment. Andy is also an acomplished photographer and travel writer and his other interests include music, cinema and literature.

Nick Ames (team scout) 36 is working on the publicity aspect of the team. A club cricketer for Islington London County he played for 15 years for Kennington CC, Kent. A former reporter for the national press his other interests include travel, literature, history, music and football.

Charmian "Charli" Goddard - Umpire, Charlie umpires matches at the White Rose club. She is also coach to the national women's goalball team. Aged 36 she works as a rehabilitation officer for visually impaired people for Leeds Social Services and runs a talking newspaper. Other interests include skiing, swimming, ten pin bowling and music.

Mike Brace - Team Manager. He is 47 and has been involved in playing and managing sport for the visually disabled for the past 25 years. He has represented Great Britain at 6 of the last 7 para olympics and managed a team at last para olympics. Involved in management for the last 10 years. He was part of the Metro club and featured in 9 of the 7 finals involving Metro. Mike was a close in fielder.

Steve Mariani - Assistant team manager. Steve 40, has played cricket for the last seven years and has umpired blind cricket for the past three years. He works as a solicitor and his other interests include music and his family. He is also a part time lecturer in law.

Tony Hegarty - Physiotherapist. Tony 38 has played blind cricket since 1980. He was captain of the RNIB college team at Hereford. He was captain the first and only time the college won the knock out final in 1981. He captained London Sports for 6 years. Tony bats in the middle order, bowls and fields. He was also a keen golfer and has won the British Blind Golf Open Championships on two occasions. Tony is the secretary of the World Blind Cricket Council and chairs British Blind Sports Cricket Committee.