Random Cricket Photos Post 46



#RandomCricketPhotosThatMakeMeHappy

The older man in the picture is Lance Cairns, a Kiwi all-rounder of some merit and father of an even better all-rounder Chris Cairns.

For those who don't know much about him, another introduction of Cairns Sr. can be linked to the Melbourne Cricket Ground. So massive is the MCG that hitting one six there is quite a task. In 1983, Lance hit six of them there in a matter of 20 deliveries, one of them with just hand. 36 years on, nobody has even equaled his record of sixes in a single innings by an individual at the MCG.

The trouble was, however, that while the entire MCG reverberated with the sound of the ball hitting Cairns' bat, a special one called the Excalibur, he couldn't hear any of it.

Lance had hearing issues since the age of 17 and it worsened to an extent that he had to read lips to be able to take part in conversations.

It created troubles even on the cricket field.
"I would scream for these appeals and all my team-mates would be silent as anything. Then it would work the other way, I would get a nick and the wicket-keeper would catch it and they would all scream the appeal and I wouldn't appeal because I hadn't heard the nick," said Cairns in an interview few years ago.

The impact of it was more prominent on Cairns' life outside cricket as the all-rounder kept trying to move away from social situations requiring him to talk and hear a lot.

In 2010, he finally had a cochlear implant and according to his own admission, it was the first time he telephoned his son Chris to have a conversation with him.

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