Foy scored a double century against Australia

A top blind English cricketer has been backed by the game's governing body after the level of his visual impairment was questioned.

Nathan Foy helped England retain the Ashes against Australia after fine performances with the bat, which included scoring a double century.

But the mother of an opposing team member questioned Foy's blindness.

Peter Donovan of the World Blind Cricket Cricket said he was disappointed at the unfounded claims.

He said: "When someone is above average, people look for ways of trying to justify why they're not the same as everybody else.

"I think that's why it's come about. Nathan has exceptional talent so the fact that he performs so well, I think people just think 'oh well he can't be blind'."

Foy's blindness is classified as B1 which is the most serious of the three levels of visual impairment used in the sport.

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Because of this, his runs count double so when he scored a century in the second match on Sunday, this was doubled to 200, which angered some Australia supporters and reawakened the traditional rivalry between the two nations.

There were reports the Australian Blind Cricket Association was to make a formal complaint to the WBCC but this has not been the case.

England team manager Ian Martin told the BBC: "Before any of our players can play international cricket, and it's the same for the Australians as well, they have to provide evidence as to the level of their visual impairment.

"We have done that for all our guys. The World Blind Cricket Council then determines which classification these guys sit in. And that procedure has been followed. In my mind the accusations are a bit harsh really."

Nick Bryant, the BBC's correspondent in Sydney, said whenever an athlete produced an exceptional performance, questions of the correct classification was raised and this was a problem affecting disability sports.

The England and Wales Cricket Board said it had not been contacted by the ABCA or the WBCC.

A spokesman told BBC Sport: "We would like to congratulate the team and Nathan Foy on a superb performance. We are extremely proud of the team."

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