British sports star is given ‘wrong’ prescription

A British sportsman has this month highlighted the importance of accurate eye examinations after being given the ‘wrong’ prescription as reported in the national press this week.

Cricket star Monty Panesar had his eyes re-tested at a London-based practice after club physiotherapist Barry Goudriaan identified he was having problems with ‘fielding and catching’.

Wheeler & Kirk, which specialises in sport vision problems, changed the 24-year-old spinner’s prescription for his left eye to ‘better suit his needs’ and examined his hand eye coordination, depth perception and ‘how he uses his head, hands and eyes together’.

‘I wouldn’t say that Panesar’s previous prescription was wrong because it is a matter of opinion,’ Wheeler & Kirk practice manager Paul Richards told Optician. But Richards, who thought it would be unfair to identify the cricketer’s original optician, added that the new prescription did vary enough from his previous prescription to ‘make a difference to his performance’.
‘We feel that his new prescription will be more beneficial for him,’ he added. Panesar went on to take five wickets in his latest test, but England still lost by 134 runs.