Mum of autistic sports fan tells how life has been transformed by taking up cricket Final

Mum of autistic sports fan reveals his life has been transformed by charity cricket project

A mum has told how her autistic son has “flourished” since taking up the game of cricket through a project funded by an award-winning charity.

Blaine Innes, 21, of Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, who is also non-verbal, has been attending training sessions at his local Fraserburgh Cricket Club for the past three months.  

And mum Moyra, 56, told how taking up the sport has “really improved his life” by helping him build his confidence, with the weekly classes now the highlight of his week.

The programme is funded by Scottish cricket charity Beyond Boundaries and delivered in partnership with Cricket Scotland, with the pair’s work recently recognised with a global award by cricket governing body, International Cricket Council (ICC), for how it supports young disadvantaged and underrepresented people across the country.

Moyra said:

“Blaine’s been fixated with watching cricket on the TV and I spotted an advert on Facebook for these cricket classes, so we decided to give it a go.

We wondered how he’d cope but he absolutely loves it. Other people can be cruel sometimes in other walks of life, but everyone has been fantastic with him.

He’s flourished on a personal level, as well as at the sport. It’s really improved his life and ours because we’re delighted it makes him so happy. It’s the highlight of his week.

They’re so accepting of him at the club. They’ve been fantastic. He’s so excited when it comes round and gives a big thumbs up when he plays.”

Blaine has been autistic and non-verbal since birth and attended Westfield School in Fraserburgh in the town. He lives at home with mum Moyra, dad Graeme, 54, and brother Blair, 30.

Blaine first attended junior hardball sessions with the club around Easter time and plays with local secondary school pupils, and a women and girls club, as well as receiving individual coaching sessions when he attends every Friday.

Moyra said he’s grown in confidence since attending, as well as significantly improving his batting and catching skills.

The programme is funded by Beyond Boundaries and delivered by Cricket Scotland and work such as this that is taking place up and down the country helped the pair jointly win a prestigious ICC Development Award in the Cricket 4 Good Social Impact Initiative of the Year category in July.

Moyra added:

“Funding like this makes a huge difference. It’s so heartwarming how much Blaine is enjoying it. I know he’s in good hands. It gives me a warm glow seeing him there.”

Keith Wilson, chair of Beyond Boundaries, said:

“Everyone at our charity is so pleased to hear how much Blaine has enjoyed our cricket sessions and the wider impact it’s had on his life. Improving the lives of people in our classes is what our charity is all about, so it’s great to see he’s really taken to the sport.

Securing extra funding is key to making initiatives such as this possible longer term, and we want to continue to increase the number of disadvantaged and underrepresented people in Scotland who can benefit from the activities that we fund.”

Lisa Watson, 49, coach at Fraserburgh cricket club, which she helps run with her husband Michael, 47, said:

“It’s been an absolute joy having Blaine at the club. He’s such a sweet boy.

He absolutely loves it and we’ve started getting him kitted out in the cricket pads. He’s even started saying a few words. I showed him a cricket ball and asked him his favourite colour, and he replied ‘red’.  His mum Moyra said it was amazing and was quite emotional when I told her.

It’s been so heartwarming to see how he’s progressed since joining.”

Nic Wilson, Head of Development at Cricket Scotland, said:

“It is great to hear Blaine and Moyra’s story. It reinforces the importance of our programmes for underrepresented groups, which we can deliver because of our partnership with Beyond Boundaries.

Fraserburgh Cricket Club is one of nine Disability Champion Clubs in Scotland. Each club receives specialised equipment, seed-funding and Cricket Scotland Development Team support to provide participants with a disability the opportunity of being part of an inclusive cricket club.”

Beyond Boundaries funds programmes that use cricket, in any of its forms, to transform the lives of young, disadvantaged and underrepresented people across the country.

Its work includes supporting cricket clubs in Scotland to open their gates and deliver cricket opportunities tailored to those with disabilities and expanding cricket programmes into some of the most deprived areas in Scotland. The charity also funds programmes to train up female cricket coaches to grow the women’s game, as well as providing accessible, social, cricket-based activities for girls, with a focus on participation and fun.

Cricket Scotland and the charity won the award from the ICC for its partnership earlier this month.

For more information, please contact:

Ben Archibald:

Ben.archibald@bigpartnership.co.uk / 07525 814 006