Hearing impaired Curlewis cricketer Tahlia Denham takes part in the Junior Strike League in the Northern Territory
An emerging women’s cricketer, who is expected to lose hearing in both ears within the next 12 months, is inspiring her teammates and opponents with her skills and first class attitude.
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Cricketers are always encouraged to tune in, to better understand the subtle nuances and rhythms of the game.
However, a hearing impaired Curlewis cricketer is taking things to a new level, after first picking up the sport just eight months ago.
Tahlia Denham, 19, has been playing for the Victoria Pride team at the Junior Strike League in Darwin this week, taking on Northern Territory, ACT and Papua New Guinea representative outfits.
Initially a netballer, Denham took up cricket after the encouragement of her partner.
And she’s almost totally sledge-proof with Denham having just two per cent of hearing left in her right ear, while completely deaf in the other.
In fact, she chooses to remove her hearing aids – which bolster her ability to hear by about 60 per cent – while batting or bowling, allowing her to concentrate better and ignore cheeky comments from the opposition.
“I can turn my hearing aids off and tune into my own game, not worry about players being really cocky or anything,” she said with a laugh.
“I tune into my own bowling.
“It’s great, I love it, it always stumps the other team.”
She was diagnosed with moderate hearing loss by the age of six, and over the last decade it has reduced gradually until she lost the remaining sense in her left ear about three months ago.
However, the Pascoe Vale Centrals and Pomborneit CC all-rounder remains upbeat and positive about the fact her hearing will eventually drop off over the next six to 12 months.
“I’m already prepared for it,” Denham said.
“(My partner is) definitely interested in learning (sign language), when it comes it comes, we’re not really worried.”
After then, she’ll use sign language and tap into body cues to communicate.
The Junior Strike League experience has been a bit different from the norm when she plays with the Melbourne Deaf Cricket Club, which was established in 1881.
“All we do is sign, so it’s completely silent,” she said.
When batting, Tahlia has a unique way of calling for a run after finding a gap, always keeping a close eye on her batting partner’s legs and in which direction they face after a ball is struck.
Then she will check if it is safe to run.
“I’ll put my hand up (as if to) say: ‘Come forward’,” she said.
“It’s more of a visual game for me. It’s really interesting.”
However, she puts her aids back in while fielding: “So I can hear my teammates but they literally have to yell.”
Pascoe Vale Centrals captain and teammate Rachel O’Riordan said Denham had become a valued member of the club, opening the batting and taking the best figures of 4/13.
“She is a clean striker of the ball with great timing and knows how to put away a bad ball,” O’Riordan said.
“She is a standout player for someone so young.
“To be honest we sometimes forget that she is hearing impaired
“(She) is not only a fantastic cricket player but a fantastic person as well, proving that if you have the desire to achieve your goals, having an impairment is no barrier.”
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Originally published as Hearing impaired Curlewis cricketer Tahlia Denham takes part in the Junior Strike League in the Northern Territory
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