A man due to compete as part of a cricket team for visually impaired people in a prestigious competition has said he wants his journey to inspire others.

Moshfique Ahmed, who lives in Reading, Berkshire, said he was suicidal when he first lost his eyesight after having a brain haemorrhage in August 2017.

Now, he has been selected to play for the England Men’s Visually Impaired Team as they travel to Australia in November for a multi-format Ashes series.

He said that since he started playing his life had “turned around”.

Before his brain haemorrhage, the 42-year-old worked as a security guard in Lower Earley and was fit and well.

Three weeks after the bleed, he woke up from a coma in the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.

“My sight was completely gone,” said the father of three.

He was also too weak to walk or hold anything.

“I couldn’t do my normal stuff,” he said.

“It was really difficult and hard to cope with.”

Staff from Reading Borough Council’s adult social care services helped him adapt to his new life, which included learning how to use a cane to navigate the streets around his house, and he began to play visually-impaired cricket.

Last year, he played in the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) World Games in Birmingham, making his international debut against Pakistan.

“My life has turned around,” he said.

“I wanted to commit suicide when I first went blind, now I’m on top of the world.”

He said he was “privileged” to call himself an England cricketer.

“I’m delighted to live in a country where blind people are looked after so well,” he said.